


Another Familiar Face

by TheShippingGhost



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: 1920's, Alcohol, Angst, But will be, Christmas, Complete, Cute, Ed is twenty-three, Emotional, Gifts, M/M, Not much like cos honestly, Roys a singer, after cos, ed taking care of al, fireplace, in 1920's london, mature for cursing and alcohol, nightclubs, other!Roy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:00:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8586583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShippingGhost/pseuds/TheShippingGhost
Summary: "Ed didn’t think anything of it until another minute later when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Hey, kid,” it said in a tone he’d heard a dozen times before. 'You’re gonna catch a cold walking around in the snow like this.'
'General?'"
It'd been years since Edward had left his home world with Alphonse and destroyed the gate in Munich. After traveling to London and settling down, he found himself face to face with someone he thought he'd never see again. Roy Mustang. The catch: it was the alternate version of him.





	1. Chapter 1

Edward walked along the cold, dark streets of London as he headed home from his job at the university. It wasn’t until now that he realized how fast winter had hit this year, leaving snow in its wake. Uncleared snow crunched under his boots and with every step he found the cold getting more and more unbearable. He was freezing and it felt like he was soaked to the bone from the falling flakes.

He felt really sore, too. His back and neck got like this after work, but the temperature had a hand in it, too. Especially in his shoulder and thigh areas where his metal ports attached to his skin. As the metal froze to his skin, all he could do it regret even having it in the first place. It was obviously not suited to be in the cold of London’s winter and neither were his clothes.

It had been a whole five years since he left his life on the other side of the gate for good. Since then, he’d been taking care of Al like a father would a son. His little brother was a young age of thirteen when they got back to Munich and Ed had to really get his butt in gear to take care of him.

And so, they moved to England. When the war ended, Ed knew clearing out of Germany was a good idea. The segregation was ridiculous and it was only pushing towards worse rather than better. Things weren’t much better in London, but he was able to get a place in a group home and land a spot as an assistant in the science division of a college.

So, at age twenty-three, Edward Elric finally found a place to fit in, here on the wrong side of the gate. Having Al here with him made it plenty easier, but as the years kept moving, Ed couldn’t help but feel a sort of hopelessness in the midst of his perfect life in England. He knew why, but there wasn’t a way to fix it.

Winry came to mind sometimes and so did everyone else he left behind. Granny, Hawkeye, Armstrong, the whole Mustang crew, and well, especially Mustang. The man had been the last person he saw before he took off into the gate and when he found Al as a stowaway, Ed almost felt like he owed the general his life. There’s no way he would’ve lasted without his little brother, especially after he lost Alfons.

Carried away in his thoughts about home, Ed found he almost missed his turn that took him back to the house quicker. He let out a sigh, his breath showing as silvery mist under the light of the lamps, and decided to pay more attention to where he was going than on things he wasn’t apart of anymore.

On this street, he found himself getting out of the snow, but the wind was no longer blocked by buildings so he was greeted by a cold gust of wind on his already frozen face. He frowned as best he could with stiff lips. He wasn’t sure he’d have a face by the time he made it home.

Somebody passed him. A man in a dark coat who he didn’t really give a passing glance, he thought he could hear the guy make some sort of noise. He didn’t think anything of it until another minute later when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Hey, kid,” it said in a tone he’d heard a dozen times before. “You’re gonna catch a cold walking around in the snow like this.”

Ed felt a chill fall right down his spine. He hesitated, fearing the worst, but he did turn on his heel and was greeted by a face he never thought he’d see again. Black hair, dark eyes, and a concerned expression on the normally smug face. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind and the name fell from his lips before he even thought about it, “General?”

Mustang. Roy fucking Mustang was right there in front of him. It had been forever since he’d seen those eyes and it was crazy to think of how many ways the man might’ve made it here. Though, something was obviously different. Ed was enlightened on what only a second later.

“General?” Roy repeated at him, a confused expression highlighting his face. “Sorry, but I’ve never been in the military. You must have me confused with someone else.”

And just like that, before Ed’s happiness could settle, it was ripped away replaced with him feeling like he’d lost something all over again. It was just like when he’d met Alfons or Hughes. For a split second, he’d been home again. This time, he’d been back in Mustang’s office, dressed up in his tragically flamboyant red coat and listening to the asshole list off all the things Ed had done wrong in his travels. As soon as he knew this wasn’t that same man, Ed was shoved back into his new reality. “Oh. Yeah,” he couldn't keep himself from visibly deflating. “You’re right. I confused you with an old friend of mine.”

He got an odd look from the Roy, but the guy didn’t comment further. He must’ve assumed that Ed had been in the war. It wasn’t uncommon, of course. There were dozens of young men in the military. “Well, stranger or not,” Roy started. “It’s still too cold to be walking around this late at night.”

“I’m fine,” Ed said, trying to crush any friendly ideas. “I’ve only got a few more blocks to go before I get home.”

Roy seemed to almost accept this, but apparently, this Roy was a little nicer. “My house is just right here.” He pointed his thumb at the door next to them on the street. “At least stay to warm up a little. You look like you’re freezing out here.”

God, Ed wanted to say no. He wanted to decline and go on his merry way so he could complain to Al that he had a bad day. Despite what he wanted, the thought of a warm fire to ease the frozen ache of automail ports sounded too good to give up. “Guess I can’t say no,” was his answer. He had no reason not to trust the guy.

That was an answer Roy liked. It kinda felt like he was just trying to get in his good deed of the day, but at least there was warmth in Ed’s near future. Without another word, Roy turned and unlocked the door and invited him in. Of course, it was still cold inside the house since the fire hadn’t yet been lit, but he was thankful for getting out of the wind.

The place was a decent size. That’s what Ed noticed as he was led to the room where they’d be staying. Other than the couch in front of the fireplace, there was nothing decorating the room. It was ridiculously barren. Compared to the home he lived in, which housed six people, it was lacking in the warm feeling that normally came from a place called home.

He sat down while Roy started the fireplace. It was awkward to see a man so much like the Flame get down and start a fire in the normal way. Once it was lit and the flames burning, Roy fell back onto the cushion opposite of Ed’s. The awkward silence between them became utterly more noticeable.

It was minutes before the room started to warm up. When it did, Ed was suddenly very glad to have been invited in. His automail ports were still sore, but at least now his face wasn’t stinging and he could feel his flesh fingers again.

The silence persisted for a while after that, the only noise and entertainment in the room being the flickering of the fire. Ed didn’t mind this half as much as he thought he would. He actually found himself looking over at Roy to study his features. To see if he could find any differences between his Roy and this one.

He did notice a soft line of silver along the man’s chin. A scar, though he couldn’t imagine what from. Maybe the war? He said he wasn’t military, but there wasn’t a person in London who didn’t have a story to tell about the bombings. It was just as he was wondering this, Roy’s eyes flicked from the fire to Ed. Their eyes locked and Ed was the one to look away, face flustered.

This made Roy smile. It was then that the man realized that he hadn’t yet introduced himself. “Oh,” he said, shocked with himself. He could’ve been making conversation this whole time. “I’m Roy Mustang, by the way.”

Yeah, I know that much, was Ed’s thought, but what he said was, “Uh, I’m Ed. Edward Elric.” It was awkward introducing himself to a man who looked like an old friend. It made him very uncomfortable.

Then, as if he didn’t want to go back to silence, Mustang decided to ask, “So, what’s a kid like you doing out so late during winter?”

Ed looked over to see if the man was being serious. What did he mean? Ed was an adult and had been for a long time now. It wasn’t like he was- Then he realized what was meant by kid. “I’m twenty-three,” he said plainly, his eyes pointed straight forward.

Roy’s face formed into a look of utter shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” 

Roy wasn’t convinced. “Well you’re so small, I thought you were like fifteen. There’s no way you’re over twenty.“

Ed’s eyes immediately shot over to Roy. “I’m. Not. Small.” An annoyed twitch came to his eyebrow as he said this, as well as a harsh frown to his lips. Of course, how could he expect any different? It was still Roy Mustang. Short jokes galore and plenty of asshole to go around.

Where he expected to see a smug smirk and to hear some comment that would further piss him off, he instead got an honest laugh. Wow, that was actually kind of... cute? Well, he supposed he couldn’t judge the man too soon. Just because he looked like the general didn’t mean he was, right?

“Sorry,” Roy laughed. “Didn’t realize I struck a nerve.”

Well, maybe he could. Ed let out a frustrated huff. “Whatever.”

He had  _ intended  _ on stopping the conversation there and being quiet after that. He didn’t like that he was becoming acquainted with the other Mustang like this. He wasn’t sure he could fill that gap with a fake Roy like he had with the others. Especially after he realized how these people were real, not just some twisted nightmare.

Roy, on the other hand, was a conversationalist and he continued to prove it. “Alright, so you’re twenty-three. What’s an adult your age doing out this late during winter?”

Ed opened his mouth for a snarky response but mentally corrected himself. He was rude to the general, not this stranger. Instead, he said, “I work at the university downtown. I stayed late on accident.”

“You’re gonna freeze doing shit like that,” Roy said back with a sigh. “Excuse my language.”

Of course, Ed didn’t mind cursing, he did it himself, but he didn’t comment on that. “I was practically frozen today because of-” He cut himself off. He’d about mentioned his automail. He was too used to talking to Al these days. “Because I forget my good coat at home.” Honestly, he didn’t have a good coat at home, but it’s not like that mattered.

“Didn’t know it was going to snow?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

The two of them continued to talk about small things for almost an hour before Ed realized he needed to go. His temperature was normal again and his clothes and hair were mostly dry so obviously, it was time to go get wet and freezing again. Roy stood to head him goodbye and was planning on just letting him go until he had some sort of realization. He left for a moment and came back with an old looking coat. Yeah, this guy was much nicer than the general.

“I can’t take that.” Ed refused to accept the coat into his hands. “I’ll be fine. It’s not that far from here.”

“Just take it,” Roy had insisted. Another favor for a stranger. “It’s not like I use it and at least I’ll know you’re not gonna get sick.”

Ed contemplated turning on his heel and just leaving. Then he realized that that would just be mean so he let out an annoyed sigh. “Whatever. Fine.” He didn’t like feeling indebted to people. Especially not people he planned to never see again. Regardless, he took the coat and slipped it onto his arms simply over his thinner one. It was old leather, but still much warmer than the old one. “Thanks,” he grumbled before he left into the night.

This time it was only about twenty minutes before he got home. This was enough time to get a frozen nose and cheeks, but his automail hadn’t caused as much trouble, thank God. Once he stepped through the door, he didn’t even get the time to say he was home before Al was at the bottom step of the stair sending him a  _ very _ unhappy look. His arms were even crossed for dramatic flare. 

Yup, home sweet home.

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was months before Ed actually saw the other Roy again. During that time, he used the coat he got that night to fend off the cold and he kept in mind to avoid that street where they met. Winter faded into spring and the snow was replaced with rain. Ed put the coat away until next year, returning to his old brown cloth one.

He was off work for the week. He’d been given some paid leave in light of his constant hard work in both helping students and teachers- he also thought that maybe his volunteer work in the library was a part of it -so he, in turn, had nothing to do. He tried staying home, but he found it shattered his nerves to be in the crowded house for more than a few days.

One of his housemates, a woman named Margaret felt for him and his struggle in finding something to do. She suggested he try one of the nightclubs downtown. It wasn’t too pricey and was apparently owned by foreigners so it seemed to be a very Ed sort of place, according to her. Any excuse to get out of the house was a good one, so he decided to go.

Al could’ve tagged along, being eighteen now, but Ed didn’t want to bother his brother so he went alone. As soon as darkness fell, he was out of the house and on the way to the club. The name of the place was The November Stallion.

Ed didn’t dress much better than he normally did. He simply wore a button up shirt and a nice vest, but he wasn’t going to dress in suit and tie for a one night affair. He soon found out that in this club, that didn’t much matter. As soon as he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the sounds of jazz and sight of other men, his age and older, dressed in not so formal clothes and drinking.

Maybe he could fit right in. 

The first thing he did was survey the area for any place he might particularly enjoy to sit. It wasn’t a large club, but it was big enough to comfortably seat thirty or so people. There was a small stage along the wall where a young woman sang out to a crowd of pleased drinkers. Next to it was a small seating area for people there to mingle. Then, there was the bar, the home of the people who wanted their alcohol pronto. Every seat there was colored a light navy blue and every worker dressed in white shirts with black bow ties. Everyone except the singer on the stage, who had on a white, form-fitting dress.

Ed took to the bar. Not because he wanted alcohol, but because it was the least crowded due to the show. He picked a barstool off to the far right that was both facing the stage and the counter so he could see. It was kind of amazing to watch, honestly, and the woman had a beautiful voice.

He was there for a song or two before a bartender acknowledged him, asking, “What can I get you?”

Ed was immediately struck by the voice. He looked over to see Mustang behind the counter, clad in the typical server outfit. A white shirt and black bowtie. Very snazzy. Not to mention he had his hair neatly slicked back to match the style. “Just some scotch,” Ed said, trying to pretend he wasn’t as surprised as he was. Maybe he wouldn’t be recognized.

“Alright,” Roy said, seemingly unaware at first. Then, as he was about to turn away, his expression changed. His brow furrowed and a thoughtful frown came to his face. It wasn’t until he gave Ed the glass that he actually asked his thought. “Hey, I know you, don’t I?”

Ed gave an unenthusiastic shrug as he picked up his drink. “Dunno,” he lied. “I’ve never been here before.” He wasn’t a drinker so even a soft sip left his throat warm.

Of course, Roy didn’t just give up. “I feel like I know you from something else.” When Ed didn’t respond to him, he didn’t leave. He instead leaned on the counter near Ed’s seat so he could think. Then he figured it out, much to Ed’s dismay. “Are you that kid from a while back? During winter? Edward, right?”

Well, Ed knew better than to lie now. “Yeah, that’s me.” He cursed his recognizable hair and eye color. It made him incredibly noticeable and one hundred percent memorable. It was odd, though. Despite these thoughts, he was low key pleased that this Roy remembered him.

Roy’s lips broke into a real, friendly smile rather than a professional one. “Well, it’s good to see you haven’t died of pneumonia yet.”

Ed scoffed. “Yeah, because I like walking around in the cold, freezing my ass off. I do it every day.”

“Who knows, maybe you do,” Roy said back his smile reflecting in his eyes. “Shit, does that means it’s cold tonight? I forgot my good coat at home.”

That one actually made Ed laugh. It was a good, honest chuckle and it honestly made him feel a bit better. “Don’t worry, it’s actually pretty nice out tonight. Well, aside from the raining but it’s always raining around here.”

There was a little something in Roy’s eyes. A bit of softness that Ed couldn’t place. It disappeared when Roy spoke, “You got that right.” There was a comfortable pause before he asked, “So what brings you to a place like this, shorty?”

Ed’s eyes narrowed. “Not short,” he clarified- earning himself a laugh -before he answered the question. “A friend of mine suggested I try the nightlife. Said it’d suit me.”

“If you like listening to jazz and drinking alcohol, then yeah, it’s probably for you.” Roy motioned to the drink, “Check,” then to the woman, “And from the way you were looking at my friend up there, I’d say check.”

That almost sounded like he was being accused of liking the woman for more than just her singing, but Ed ignored that. It was a dumb thought anyway. “Well, guess I found the perfect spot for me, then.” He took a quick sip of his drink.

“Seems like it,” Roy said back. “Am I gonna be seeing more of you, then?” 

Just then, the music came to a pause, cutting an answer out of Ed’s mouth. He glanced up at the stage and saw the woman exiting to the right of it. Her attention was immediately on the bar. She passed the crowd with ease and it wasn’t until she was up close that Ed actually recognized her. 

Miss Hawkeye was always such a reserved woman at the office, Ed didn’t realize how pretty she could be all dressed up with her hair pinned up in curls and her face done up in makeup. He honestly hadn’t been able to tell it was her up on that stage until she was right in front of him. It was obviously just another look-alike who didn’t know him, but Ed didn’t mind seeing her again.

“Riza, can’t you take one more song?” Roy asked her. His voice pleaded but his happy expression on his face didn’t match up. “I’m trying to make us a long-term customer right now.”

“You’re not gonna slack just because you want to chat up a customer, Roy,” she said in that commanding tone Ed knew so well. “Up there. Now.”

Roy didn’t put up as much of a fight. He slipped out from behind the counter, letting Riza in before he closed it off again. He was about to leave for the stage, but before he did, he turned to Ed and said, “Make sure you’re watching, alright short stuff?” It was accompanied by a wink. Then he turned and walked toward the steps onto the stage.

Ed would’ve been more angry about the short thing if he hadn’t been completely caught off guard by that wink. Thank god the lighting was dim because he was halfway sure that he his cheeks were flushed.

He watched as Roy walked onto the stage and could visibly see him become a different person under those lights. He was suddenly a well-practiced singer, a so-called lady’s man, cocky and honestly attractive. Ed was sure it was too obvious that he was staring, but he didn’t care enough to stop.

The music began to play. It was a song Ed didn’t know, but it was definitely jazzy, as was expected, and plenty nice to the ears. It was half a minute of the slow instrumental before Roy began to sing and when he did, well, there was no way to describe it other than breathtaking. It sucked all of the air from Ed’s lungs in a single second. 

Ed could feel his lips fall into a soft gasp as he was taken aback by not only the singing itself but also by how oddly natural Roy seemed up there as he sang and moved to the beat of the music. Watching him was mesmerizing and listening to him sing the notes of the song, well it left a legitimately pleasant ache in his chest.

Before he knew it, the song had ended. This was when Ed realized his staring would start getting more obvious so before he could be enthralled by the next one, he turned his attention to the scotch. He wasn’t that much a fan of alcohol, but he was definitely enjoying himself enough not care as much about the strong taste. He took a long sip. This was when he noticed a pair of hazel eyes on him. 

“I can see you’re a fan,” Riza said, a warm smile on her lips. “I haven’t seen you around before. What’s your name?”

Again, he had to say who he was to someone who should already know. He wore a smile regardless. “Edward Elric, ma’am.”

“I’m Riza Hawkeye,” she said in return. “I’m guessing you already know that idiot up there.”

Ed nodded, laughing as he did. “Yeah,” he confirmed in a happy tone of voice. “We met a while back in winter. I didn’t know he worked here, though.”

He knew she said something else to him, but he found himself listening to a certain note of the new song a little more closely than he did her. He gave her an apologetic look, but she didn’t look offended,  just shook her head and went on to cater to the other customers. Ed continued to watch the performance now that he was by himself, amazed by the voice Roy had on him. 

He was sitting there for a long time like that. He nursed on his drink as he watched the stage. One song after another played, each more mesmerizing than the last until Roy was giving his final bow. He got off the stage and a different performer took his place. Soon, he was back behind the counter and refilling Ed’s glass.

“You enjoy the show?” Roy asked him with an oh so familiar smirk present on his face. He was a bit flustered and a tad sweaty, probably from all of the singing under the stage lights. Ed couldn’t blame him. He’d look worse if he tried the same thing.

“You sounded like a dying sheep,” Ed joked, grinning up at him. When Roy mocked offense, Ed laughed, but took back his statement and amended it, “I’m kidding. You sounded great.”

“You’re damn right I did. Bet I had you falling out of your seat.”

Yes, yes he did. Of course, Ed wasn’t going to say that, so he denied he even thought of it. There’s no way he’d admit something like that. Roy’s head was already big enough as is. It didn’t need to be inflated anymore. “I wouldn’t go that far,”  he said. “But it was definitely amazing. I never imagined you could sing like that.”

Roy shrugged rather dramatically and couldn’t help but top off the compliments with an air of cockiness. “What can I say? I’m just full of amazing surprises.” He certainly was. “I do my show every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday if you want to come see me more.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Ed said back. “You’ll never get rid of me.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m planning on.” Que Mustang’s second perfectly timed wink of the night. Ed was the one drinking and Roy was the one being flirty. That didn’t sound right to him, but who was he to question it?

Ed shook his head of the thoughts and tried to brush off his reddened cheeks by rolling his eyes at the statement. “Well, I think you just got yourself a new regular.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left a kudos and to those who commented. It really helped motivate me!


	3. Chapter 3

It was impossible not to keep his word. Ed was right back in The November Stallion that Wednesday night and swooning to the sound of Roy’s voice. He did the same thing again and again, even after he went back to work. He’d gone from avoiding the second Mustang like he was the plague to being excited every time he knew he was going to get to go out and see him.

He realized that it wasn’t only the singing that kept him out late at night. It was talking to Roy, chatting with Hawkeye, getting a little tipsy in the meantime and then heading home. Everything felt somewhat natural the way it was going. It wasn’t until then that he realized how much actually missed Roy.

Of course, there were constant reminders that the man he was seeing wasn’t the general that had been a rock in his life for such a long time. Like, how he didn’t know Al. He pulled out matches to light cigarettes for a customer. He often forgot Ed’s last name, saying it was one of the weirdest ones he’d heard yet. Not to mention, he was hell bent on getting Ed to be his best friend.

Ed wasn’t able to really figure that one out. When he met Alfons because of rocket engineering, it felt like fate. Of course, they’d clicked because Ed was desperate to find a normal spot to be in and in the alchemical world, he and Al were brothers. Hughes and Gracia were more so accidents than anything else, but he’d still been friends with them in his world.

He wouldn’t say he and Roy hated one another in the other world, but up until the end there, it was a rocky friendship at best. They earned the mutual trust and respect for one another after years of knowing each other. He hadn’t thought they were anything close to friends until then, but this Roy had immediately taken interest in him.

It was a Saturday night when he finally got the gist as to why. He’d lost count of how many times he had dropped by the club, but it had been over a month since he had first come by. Instead of scotch, he ordered a glass of cold water and was drinking it casually at his normal seat at the bar. 

“You know, there're shows here that aren’t me,” Roy said as he came over. He leaned over the counter and rested on his arms a little to the left of Ed, the typical smug smile on his face.

Ed took a sip of his water, sat it down with a small thunk onto the wooden counter before he said, grin on his face, “Why would I come see other people sing nicely when I can listen to you sound like an angry cat on stage?”

“Oh, that one hurts,” Roy said as he tried to hold in his laugh and instead snorted. He’d just gotten back from the stage so his cheeks were flushed out. He was always more bubbly after singing, all smiles and immensely adorable. “Your insults just get more and more creative. I’m almost jealous you’re so good.”

“I know, it’s a gift,” Ed said. “Complete natural talent.”

Roy smirked at him, an evil gleam in his eyes. “Do you consider your height a talent, too? I would. It’s amazing how you manage to be so small.”

Short jokes had become a huge part of their friendship, but that didn’t mean Ed liked them any more than he had for years now. He found from trial and error that if he pouted, he got better responses than when he glared. So, he promptly puffed out his bottom lip and mumbled, “I’m not that short.”

He received a not-so-hard pinch on the cheek and a sweet smile. That didn’t stop Ed from pushing away his hand and rubbing at the skin of his cheek. It was completely fine, but he wanted Roy to feel bad, not look cute. The pout hadn’t worked as well as planned.

“Don’t you try and act like I hurt your feelings,” Roy said, instead of feeling any sort of remorse. “You’re the one who called me a cat.”

“An angry cat,” Ed corrected, grabbing his drink for another sip. It pissed him off that Roy got so much happiness out of making him angry. This was one of the moments where everything felt normal about this. There wasn’t a single difference between them, aside from environment. It was nostalgic.

“An angry cat,” Roy repeated, fixing his statement. “Point is, you’re tiny and I’m an amazing singer. Those are two things that you need to accept, Edward. They’re the truth.”

This time, Ed did glare at him from behind his glass. “I might consider it shortly after you accept a punch to the face, bastard.” 

Roy just chuckled and shook his head. Before he could respond to Ed’s pissed off comment, someone at the other end of the bar called him over. He pushed himself off of the counter and went to tend to the customer, obviously intending on coming back afterward. This gave Ed time to continue sulking. 

Even though he was kinda mad, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Roy. He found himself studying the man’s features and softly appreciating the way he looked in his bartender outfit. He’d hardly seen Roy out of the color navy blue military outfit in Amestris. He looked much better in black and white, at least in Ed’s perspective.

He promptly averted his eyes to his water when Roy turned towards him. He silently hoped he hadn’t been caught but didn’t dare look up to confirm whether or not he had. Soon there was a hand ruffling his bangs that he had to fend off. This forced him to lift his eyes and see Roy’s smug smirk.

“Not only am I not the only who performs here,” Roy grabbed Ed’s glass to refill it as he spoke. Ed hadn’t even realized it was empty. “I’m also not the only one who can see you.”

Ed made a confused expression. Then he looked back behind Roy and saw that Hawkeye was also behind the bar and she definitely had seen him if that amused smile was anything to go by. Great. Ed flushed. “So what?”

“So, if you want to stare at my ass, you should at least own up to it,” was Roy’s response, blunt and straight to the point.

“I wasn’t-!”

Roy still had that dumb smugness to his face, “You were.”

With a red face and an unhappy frown, Ed ducked his head down into his hands. He didn’t speak, knowing he’d just embarrass himself more if he did because Roy would turn it right on him. Fucking silver-tongued bastard.

It was a moment before Mustang tried to talk him out of his hands by saying, “Hey, Edward, I’ve got something to ask you.” He sounded sincere, but it could’ve easily been a simple act. 

“No,” Ed said tersely, muffled by the cloth of his gloves. 

“Come on, look up at me.”

Ed let out a groan. He stayed in his hands a second longer before he slowly lifted his head up from his palms. He would’ve kept his glare had Roy not looked more sincere than his voice even let on. “What d’you want?” he asked.

“Are you free on Monday morning?” Roy asked. 

That made Ed freeze in his seat. “Why?”

“I wanted to see if you‘d like to get some tea,” Roy explained, a confident spark in his eyes. He seemed sure that he would get the answer he wanted, even if he had just embarrassed the person he was asking. “I know this nice cafe off to the side of the...”

The words stopped processing in Ed’s mind. He was being asked on a date right now. A legitimate date and with none other than Roy Mustang. He’d known that the man liked him, but he hadn’t thought he’d try anything. Now that he had, Ed’s heart pulled to a stop and the protective bubble he’d put around himself the first time they’d met went right back up.

He couldn’t date this Roy. He couldn’t get that involved with someone he knew from this world, especially not  _ him.  _ His thoughts sunk back to his own Roy, the one in Amestris. The one that had him on a metaphorical leash from ages twelve to fifteen and somehow earned his respect along the way. He thought back to seeing him again during that short time home. The sad look the man had in his eyes when he knew he’d never see Ed again, but smiled anyway and assured him that he’d take care of the gate in Amestris. The trust they shared, the respect, of course, Ed knew that all of that affected the both of them.

It wasn’t the same man that he was with now. He couldn’t even pretend it was. Yeah, he could sit here chatting it up with this look-a-like, but there was no way he could ever imagine himself back home when he spoke to Roy. He wasn’t the general. It wouldn’t be fair to the general and it wouldn’t be fair to this version of him either. If Ed told this man about the world he came from, this Roy wouldn’t believe him just like Alfons hadn’t until the end.

Alfons. He couldn’t do that again. He couldn’t be that involved with someone from their world again. He’d lost a brother five years ago and he knew that he’d be the reason if he lost Roy, too. Just the thought made him make up his mind.

“No,” he said as he came back to reality. Upon seeing the look of shock on Roy’s face, he felt a stab of regret in his chest but he still knew that he couldn’t change his answer. “I mean, it’s a nice offer but I- I’ve got some stuff to help my brother with.” 

It was blatantly obvious that he had lied and he could tell Roy knew just by the look on his face, but the man didn’t mention it, just shrugged. “Alright,” he said. “Guess I’ll just have to catch you another time.”

Their conversation couldn’t continue past that. If they tried, it’d sizzle out in only a few minutes and they’d go back into an uncomfortable silence. After a half hour of this, Ed said an awkward goodbye and left.

As he walked home, going the same route he always did, he found himself upset, both with himself and the situation. He hadn’t wanted to lose a friend, but he also knew that if he had accepted the invitation, he wouldn’t have been able to go through with it. He would’ve eventually talked himself out of it and blew off the date.

He tried to focus on other things. The sounds of the night bugs, which of the lamps were flickering on the street, how many steps he was taking, but he couldn’t. His mind kept stumbling back to Roy and back to the general. He hated it. He hated how sad it made him feel to know he’d never have that same man again and he hated how frustrated he was when he thought of it. He hated how he couldn’t treat this new Roy the way he would a new friend because of it.

When he stepped into the door of his house and closed it behind him, he took a moment to lean against the wood and think about what he was going to do. He had no idea in all honesty and he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to figure it out, either.

Suddenly he heard someone moving around upstairs. It could've been any one of the tenants, but his first thought was Al. The two of them shared a room and if Ed had come home at his normal time, his brother would’ve been asleep already, but it was much earlier than usual.

Ed pushed himself off the door and immediately shuffled up the stairs, professionally avoiding the extra squeaky ones as he went. At the top, he turned right and went into the door at the very end. 

Inside, he found Alphonse at their shared bookshelf, intently reading the pages of some old book while still standing. He was eighteen now, practically fully grown, with short hair and features that reminded Ed of their mother. Normally he’d feel a sense of pride from seeing his brother, but right now, he couldn’t cover his distress.

Al didn’t look up until Ed closed the door of their room behind him. For a moment, his eyes brightened, but they immediately turned concerned when he saw that Ed wasn’t looking too happy. “Brother, what’s wrong?” he asked.

Ed let out a sigh. Then, he decided that he was going to talk to Al about it.


	4. Chapter 4

The two Elrics were both in their beds on opposite sides of the room. The only light in the darkness was a thin candle that had been lit and set onto Ed’s bedside table. The two of them had been talking uninterrupted for what felt like a long time.

“I still think you should’ve said yes,” was Al’s view on it. He’d been saying this since the very beginning, no matter what Ed’s excuses were as to why he shouldn’t. 

“But-”

“Brother,” Al interrupted him before he could even say anything against it. “I know that General Mustang meant a lot to you, but if the two of you were supposed to be together on that side of the gate, maybe this is fate trying to still set you up.”

“I’m not this world’s Edward,” Ed said, his voice annoyed. Probably from being interrupted. “There is no ‘destiny’ for me on this side. I’m a dent in fate’s plans. And anyway, me and Mustang weren’t destined to be together. I didn't even like him as a friend until I was fifteen.”

Al didn’t give in, though. “Maybe you just didn’t get the time,” he pointed out. “You did leave really suddenly.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t belong here.”

“Maybe you replaced the other Ed,” Al continued to sound reasonable. “Like in fate’s eyes, you’re the same person, just with different memories. Saying that you don’t have a destiny here doesn’t make sense. What are the chances you’d meet the other Roy like you did?”

A pause, then a mumbled, “Slim to none.”

“Exactly.”

Ed made a frustrated noise. “He’s still not the real Roy.”

There was a long pause as that fact made the air in the room a little tense. They both knew what Al should say and hadn’t yet. It was a harsh thing for the both of them to realize and neither of them had fully accepted it. “Brother,” Al sounded hesitant, scared. “We can’t go home. You’re never going to see the general again.”

Another moment of silence crashed over them. This time it was Ed’s turn to speak, but he wasn’t able to accomplish it. His throat felt like it had collapsed and the words he should respond with more heartbreaking than the statement itself. It took him a while, but he managed it, “I know.”

“So, maybe you should give the Mustang here a try,” Al said, trying to wash away the sadness by moving the subject back to Ed’s problem. 

“That wouldn’t be fair to  _ him _ ,” Ed huffed. “I’ll have expectations of who he should be and that won't be him.”

Al disagreed. “It wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t give him a chance. It sounds like he really likes you and if the two of you work out, then it’s all the better right?”

“Even if we work out,” Ed said. “What if he’s still just the other Roy? He doesn’t deserve that and I can’t do that to someone again.”

“You’re talking about Alfons, aren’t you Brother?” 

“Of course I am,” Ed sighed. “You didn’t know him Al, but you know he didn’t deserve what I did to him. He was an amazing person but all I did was talk about home and how I wanted to be there again. I never thought for a second how it would make him feel. He wasn’t you so he didn’t matter enough to me.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Al argued. It was true that he didn’t know Alfons, but if he really acted that much like himself, then Al could assume he thought like him, too. “You were devastated when he died.”

“Because he-” Ed paused, collecting himself so he could talk with his voice breaking. “Because he died trying to get me home. It wasn’t fair to him.”

Al didn’t know the specifics of what happened between Alfons and Ed that night, but he knew enough to be frustrated with Ed. “Stop blaming yourself,” Al said. “It wasn’t your fault and he knew what he was doing when he did it.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Yeah, it is,” Al shot back. “And wouldn’t you treat Mustang better specifically because you made the mistake in the past?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then don’t use it as an excuse.”

Ed was quiet again. This time it was because he didn’t have much more plausible argument. There was one thing he felt the need to point out, though. “What if something happens because we’re, well gay? Things are different here. Everything’s a sin and illegal.”

That was something Al didn’t have an answer for. He just had to try to make a good, reasonable statement. “Well, he knows the risks so just the fact he asked you out should mean something, right?”

“I guess. Unless he’s just dumb,” Ed said. “He wanted to go to a cafe, remember? That would be public.”

“You don’t have to be affectionate in public.”

“Roy Mustang? Not affectionate ever?” Ed almost sounded offended Al didn’t get it. “He’s always touching me at the bar. Pinching my cheeks and messing with my hair. Anybody could pick up on that.”

“But that’s in the bar,” Al said. “And people won't think you’re gay just from stuff like that. You really should give him a chance, Brother.”

Ed really didn’t feel like he could, but he decided he was done arguing about it.

 

***

 

A whole week passed before Ed even thought about going to the club again. When he was home on Monday, Al scolded him and then promptly tried to start the argument back up again, but Ed said that he was just tired. 

On Wednesday, Al was certainly more frustrated, but this time the anger was more like a silent disappointment. It was much worse. Especially as they sat in the same room and he was blatantly ignored by his brother. When he talked he just got an “mhm,” or a “shh,” in response and it almost worked.

When Ed came home Saturday instead of going to the club, Al took his keys before he could even get inside the house. Then he pushed him out the front door and locked it behind him. Of course, Ed could have just decided to go somewhere else until late that night, but he found the effort wasn’t really worth it. 

So he walked to the club, just like he had every other time. This time, instead of anticipation, he was dripping in reluctance and feeling pretty anxious. He hadn’t seen Roy since he rejected him so all he had to look forward to was more awkward conversation. Especially if he had to reject Roy a second time.

He stepped through the doors, the same as always, looked up at the stage to see Hawkeye singing, then walked over to his typical seat in the bar and sat down. It wasn’t a minute before Roy was there in front of him asking, “Water or whiskey?”

“Whiskey,” Ed answered plainly.

The drink was poured and given to him. Afterward was when Roy spoke, “I haven’t seen you in a while. Did something happen?”

Puzzled, Ed wasn’t sure what to answer. He’d assumed Roy would know why he avoided the bar over the past week. “I uh, I’ve been sick. Caught a cold, I guess.”

It was a lie. Roy had to know that, but he smirked nonetheless, “See? I told you that you’d get sick.”

It took Ed a moment to get the joke. Mostly because he was deathly confused about what was happening. When he did, he didn’t smile, he just got more concerned. “Oh, yeah,” he said. Then he took a drink of his whiskey. “Yeah, you were right.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright enough to drink?” Roy asked. “Something seems off about you.”

Ed nodded and set down his glass. “I’m fine.” He wasn’t, though. He was confused. It was like Roy had completely forgotten what had happened last week or he was just acting like he didn’t care enough to be hurt by it. For some reason, that was more frustrating than it was relieving. Did it actually not matter to him at all?

Roy didn’t seem to believe him. He pressed a hand against Ed’s forehead. “Hm, you’re not warm,” he pointed out. Okay, this was starting to feel a little more like sass than worry. “Something wrong?”

“What’s up with you?” Ed asked in a huff, pushing Roy’s hand away.

When Roy’s confused face was a little off, it was obvious that this _ was _ him being an asshole or badly trying to pretend nothing happened. “What do you mean, Edward?”

This made Ed a lot more unhappy than it should have. “You’re just, I don’t know, you’re  acting like you didn’t ask me out last week.”

“You said no.”

“So?”

Roy rolled his eyes. “What? Am I supposed to be a whiny brat about it? That’s not normally what people  _ want _ .”

Ed stumbled over his response, his face heating up, “Well I, I just- I dunno. Maybe I kind of wanted the chance to change my mind?” He sounded like he was asking himself. “I mean, it wasn’t fair to just turn you down like that.” Was that something Al had said? He couldn’t recall but that sounded right.

“So you’re saying you want me to bother you about it?”

“Yes. I mean, no, well not-” Ed let out a groan. “Stop confusing me.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Roy couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. A cute, dumb chuckle.  “Here, how about this? I’ll try again and you figure out what you want to say.”

Ed nodded.

“Do you want to have tea with me?” Roy’s question was as sincere as the first time, but less confident now that he had to ask it again.

Ed paused. For a passing second, his thoughts turned the same direction they did last time. Then he thought of his and Al’s conversation and shook that off. His answer then came without hesitation, “Yes.” After a pause, he asked. “When and where?” 

“Oh,” Roy looked a little surprised. He’d definitely been unprepared in that aspect this time. “Um, how about, er, tomorrow morning? At the Sweet Rose cafe.”

“I can’t do that,” Ed said honestly. “I have something to do at the university.” A speech of sorts about rockets. “How about tomorrow afternoon instead?”

Roy nodded, a grin coming to his face. “That works for me. Are you going to stick around for the show tonight?”

“Duh.”


	5. Chapter 5

Roy had never imagined that one day, gold would be his favorite color. As a child, he was fond of blues and blacks because they looked nice on him. Actually, it was like that until only a few months ago when he met someone who changed his entire perspective on color as a whole. He’d obviously been wrong to think blue was the best.

He’d seen blondes before and he’d seen people with odd eye colors but no natural color palette had blown him away as much as Edward’s did. Golden hair with bright gold eyes and a natural sun-kissed tone to his skin. When they first met, there had been pink on his cheeks and an adorable hint of confusion in his eyes that had complimented those colors.

Now, Roy had never believed in love at first sight- it was a ridiculous notion -but then and there, under that flickering streetlamp in the dead of night, he had felt those hurting, confused eyes strike his heart. He knew that he wanted to help this boy, to protect him, and he was well aware he could start by offering to warm him up.

It was a while before Roy saw him again. That day that Ed had been sitting at his bar and was utterly awestruck by Roy’s singing was the very same day Roy decided that he had to be in love. There was just no other explanation for how he felt, but he was too unsure of the situation to ask Edward out.

When he finally did work up that nerve, he was outright dumped.

That had really sucked.

The week that followed had been hell for him. He still had to go to work because moping around with a broken heart didn’t pay bills. Every day that Ed didn’t show up, he felt even more angry with himself. He’d fucking scared the kid off. There was no other explanation, right? He was just a terrible person.

That Saturday when Ed had walked into the bar, his hands fidgeting and his mouth pressed into an unhappy frown, Roy knew exactly what he needed to do. Seeing the tell tale signs of a stressed person, Roy decided to not even think of bringing up the date idea again. It was obvious that Edward didn’t like the thought of it so he wasn’t going to be an ass.

In return, Ed got pissed at him for not bringing it up because  _ how dare he  _ not ask Ed out again after what had happened last time. Okay, Roy couldn’t be so mad because the flush he’d gotten to see on that perfect face and embarrassed stutters that came with just made Roy the happiest man alive.

And, even better, he’d gotten a yes.

The very next day, he woke with a bit of a happy gleam to his attitude. Everything about the day seemed perfect. He first spent some time figuring out what to wear and how he should do his hair. He settled on the messy locks, because dealing with hair oil was a pain sometimes, and he wore a white button down. Today this shirt was accompanied by a satin vest. It was navy blue , pinstriped with silver on the front and entirely black starting from the middle of his sides and going back. He thought it to be pretty snazzy.

He spent the morning doing what he normally did, just with plenty more impatience. Since when had he been so restless before a date? They’d decided on three o’clock being when they’d meet so he had time to be waiting for. He found himself constantly glancing at the clock. Even though it had been noon a minute before, perhaps it would be three now? Well, no, that wasn’t how clocks worked.

When it was  _ finally  _ two-thirty, Roy was ready to go. It wasn’t a long walk to Sweet Rose and along the way, he only stopped to say hello to his typical passerby instead of actually starting a conversation. He was there fifteen minutes early.

Ed showed up fifteen minutes late, a little disheveled with his face red and bits of blonde hair falling out of his ponytail. He looked around the tea shop a little frantically for Roy, as if he wasn’t sure this was the right time or place. Or maybe he thought Roy left. Either way, even that confused face was adorable. 

When he spotted Roy, his face lit up and he immediately shuffled over and plopped his butt down in the seat across from Roy. From his lips, came a stuttered apology in the midst of a breathless voice. “Sorry, my-my thing ran over and I got caught up with this student and I-”

Roy interrupted him, a soft smile edging on his lips. “Edward, breathe.”  

Ed didn’t look like he’d listened at first because he took a sharp intake of breath and just looked at Roy, his nervousness, and embarrassment covering every inch of his face. He held onto it a moment or two, then released with a deep sigh, all of those emotions fading into a more relaxed Elric. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Roy assured. Had this kid always been so breathtakingly adorable? The answer is yes. At least, that was the answer to Roy. “It’s only been fifteen minutes.”

“I didn’t want you to think I flaked out or something.” Ed’s face was starting to return to its normal color now that he was calming down and he was tugging out his ponytail as he spoke. “I was- I  _ am  _ really happy about this, I just lost track of time.”

Roy could only watch as that golden hair fell down to Ed’s shoulders and imagine how soft it must be to the touch. It looked like beautiful silk from where he was now and it took everything in him not to reach out and run his fingers through it. “Really, Ed, it’s fine. I understand,” he said, trying not to look as absent as he was. Should he say something else? Keep the conversation interesting? He prided himself in being a conversationalist so why couldn’t he think of anything? Ed was working before this right? Yeah, he could ask about that. “So you work at a University, right? What do you do there?”

Just as skillfully as Ed had pulled his hair down, he put it right back up into a tighter ponytail. He effectively fixed his hair in just a few seconds with professional ease(Roy mildly wondered how long it had been that length). “I’m an assistant.”

This answer brought Roy’s next question very easily. “Assistant for who?”

When Ed was interested in something, whether it made him excited or if he knew a lot about it, he got this little shimmer in his eyes. Like some childhood dream had just been revamped with just a single thought. “I uh, assist pretty much everyone. I work with all the different science teams.” He counted them out on his fingers as he spoke. “Chemistry, aerospace engineering, astrophysics, metaphysics, well philosophy as whole, and a lot of the smaller ones like the history of science and geology.”

Roy was honestly startled by the wordy answer. He didn’t even know what a couple of those were. “You’re pretty smart then, huh?” was all he could dumbly say in response.

“I guess,” Ed said sounding like the most humble genius that ever existed. “I’m, uh, working on becoming a teacher for a few different classes. That’s what I was doing today. I worked with some rocket engineers a few years ago, so I talked to some guys about it this morning.”

“Rockets, huh?” Roy hadn’t heard much on rockets. Most people were concerned with planes and taking the air rather than venturing into space. “Sounds interesting.”

Ed shrugged. He really didn’t seem all that interested in that particularly, which made Roy wonder why he would’ve studied with that sort of engineer if he didn’t like the subject matter. He decided not to question it when Ed’s eyes darkened, returning to that state of hurt that Roy saw so often. What happened to this boy to make those eyes look so pained?

They went into a soft silence until a waitress asked what they would like. They both simply ordered tea and neither spoke until they both had steaming cups of leaf water in front of them. “Hey, um, I noticed you have a scar on your chin. What’s that from?” Ed asked as one hand ran under the length of his own jaw and the other dropped a few sugar cubes into his tea.

Blunt, but definitely a conversation topic. Roy let out a bit of an embarrassed chuckle. “It’s from my teenage years,” he said, a tiny bit of warmth coming to his face. “I was a dunce back then. I accidently nicked myself with a knife when I was messing around.”

That brought an honest and adorable laugh from Ed. “Are you serious?” he asked, his voice still breathy. “I thought something serious happened to you.”

“It was serious,” Roy countered. He would’ve been upset about being laughed at if he hadn’t already known the story was ridiculous- and if Ed wasn’t so freaking cute -but, instead, he was on the verge of laughing, too. “I’d thought I’d gone and killed myself with a dumb whittling knife. My aunt about killed me for it after I pulled through.” 

Ed got this bit of redness to cheeks when he was laughing and sometimes when Roy really got Ed going, his golden eyes would close and he’d be forced to grip his stomach from laughing so hard because apparently, Roy was just  _ that  _ funny. This wasn’t one of those times, but Roy could see the remnants of the flush he was able to bring about with his dumb story.

Why did he notice all of these things? Roy took a sip of his tea, trying to pull his attention somewhere else. He didn’t want to make Edward uncomfortable by staring. 

“What were you even doing with it?” Ed suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“The knife,” Ed clarified. “How’d you even manage that?” 

Roy realized he should’ve guessed that, at least to some degree, but he’d gotten himself a little off track there for a moment.  “Oh, yeah, I don’t know. I was trying to whittle wood or something. I kind of forgot about it when I started bleeding.”

“Hm,” Ed didn’t sound disappointed, he actually still looked really amused still. Good, this was going well then. “Well, do you have any other stories of a dumb, younger version of you?”

Roy smiled at that question. “Probably,” he said with a shrug. “But how about you tell me some stories about you?”

Ed froze up, a bit of a worried expression crossing his face. This was concerning. Was asking about his past that much of a no-go? Roy hadn’t meant to bring up something terrible. He was the verge of apologizing when Ed beat him to it, “Sorry, I’m better at telling fiction stories. My life’s really boring.”

For some reason, Roy didn’t believe him one bit. He got the vibe that Ed’s life story had to be interesting and crazy, the opposite of what Ed wanted him to think. It had to be something that he could listen to for hours. Ed was just so peculiar and unique as a person that there was no way that he was boring the whole time Roy hadn’t known him. That was twenty-three whole years.

“Alright, alright,” Roy said, knowing better than to push it. “In that case, is there any way I could get you to tell me one of those fiction stories?”

Much to Roy’s disappointment, Ed shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said as he took his first sip of his own tea. “I’ll have to think of one you’d like first. Maybe next time.” 

Next time, huh? Roy would like that. He would like that a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt a little... Awkward. But I wanted to do Roy's perspective and finally get to chapter six! Six is much longer than this one and a lot more cute, so you guys should look forward to next Tuesday when I post it.
> 
> Thank you so much for the beautiful and encouraging comments and I hope you guys will like what I have planned!


	6. Chapter 6

Time started to pass by like it was nothing. That date happened, Ed found that he actually did like Roy a lot, and they starting going on dates more and more often. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and suddenly Ed found himself falling for this other Roy in a way he never honestly believed he would.

And Roy never pushed anything. The other Mustang, the one is Amestris, always was up his ass about his business. Asking questions, already knowing the answers. He’d act like he knew Ed inside and out and wouldn’t allow it any other anyway. But this Roy, well he wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t ask if Ed seemed uncomfortable, he acted like he wanted to know everything about Ed but he didn’t do it like that. He didn’t even push for answers when he saw Ed’s automail for the first time. He just let it go.

He asked about Ed’s day, or he’d ask about Al. His favorite foods and colors. He didn’t seem like he was analyzing the situation or looking for a way to reprimand Ed. He also seemed to try to make Ed laugh as often as he could and honestly, Ed had never been this happy since he came to this world, or maybe since his mom died.

It was winter again now. The air was cold and sharp against his skin and honestly, he didn’t mind as much as he normally would have. His nose argued against his good mood and the tightened, frozen skin of his cheeks told him that he shouldn’t have a soft smile on his lips. He couldn’t help it.

He had just gotten off of work for the day. He was on the verge of becoming a teacher himself now since he had been substituting for the chemistry teacher for the past month and he could just tell that he might be stealing the job for good if the man didn’t come back soon.

However, this wasn’t the reason for his good mood- not that it didn’t help infinitely -no, the reason he was so pleased was because instead of heading home after work, he was headed right for Roy’s house. On Wednesday, they’d agreed to meet there for their usual date. This was common, really, once the tea thing started getting stale. Though he’d yet to stay the night, he was sure he was welcome to crash there anytime.

So, Ed walked along the snow painted streets, wrapped up nicely in the coat he’d gotten from Roy the year before. It did a wonder at keeping his automail from freezing, so Ed had decided that wearing it was a good idea, despite the fact that it earned him some teasing from the very person who’d gifted it to him.

Once he was at Roy’s doorstep, he knocked on the door, not a bit of hesitation coming to him before he did. It was only a few moments before the oak opened to reveal Roy’s smiling face. Ed could live and breathe how cute Roy was when he left his hair messy and how he got this excited edge to his eyes when he saw Ed.

His first words were, “You look freezing.”

Romantic, right?

“I’d be a little less freezing if you let me in,” Ed said back, his sass certainly implied by his tone. He wasn’t actually all that cold, but Roy was asking for it.

Roy chuckled and stepped aside to let Ed through, which Ed happily accepted. The house was warm on the inside. Enough so that Ed’s skin hurt from the sudden change, in the best way of course. Roy helped him work off his coat and gave him a much nicer greeting. A hug. 

It took Ed a while to get used to touches like this. At first he had minded it a little, getting tense, but he got used to being all lovey dovey like Roy wanted as long as they weren’t in public. It felt so domestic and it really changed his outlook on a few things.

Like how Ed used to despise his height. Now, he found he didn’t mind it as much when he buried his cold face into Roy’s chest. It was warm and inviting and if he was any taller, well, he wouldn’t fit in as well. 

Once their hug had gone on a little longer than it should have, Ed finally let Roy pull away and the two of them made their way to the oh so familiar couch in Roy’s living room. The fire was lit and seemed as though it had been going for a long while.

At first, they talked about trivial things. The weather today or how work was for Ed since they last saw each other. They relaxed during this part and today, Ed ended up with his head in Roy’s lap, hair loose and strewn out. He hummed as he could feel Roy’s fingers gently running through it. 

“Your hair is gorgeous,” Roy said, his voice soft and soothing. “Have you ever thought about braiding it? I feel like it’d look good like that.”

Ed’s lips split into a nostalgic little smile. “I used to braid it when I was a kid,” he said. Wow, that was when he was a kid, wasn’t it? Almost ten years ago now. He had been a young fifteen back then and now, he was twenty-four since august. “I guess I kind of grew out of it.” Ponytails were easier to throw up and they made his hair a little more manageable. 

“Must’ve been cute,” was Roy response. His fingers continued to work through Ed’s hair, swirling it and giving Ed a gentle scalp massage when he was playing near the top. It was a wonder Ed hadn’t fallen asleep yet. “Did you ever wear it short?” Roy added.

Ed gave a soft nod. “When I was really little. My mom said it was cute like that, but I thought it looked better when I grew it out.”

“It does look really good,” Roy agreed. After a moment’s pause, he said, “You don’t talk much about your parents, do you?” 

This was when Ed realized this might’ve been the first time he’d ever mentioned his mom around Roy. “I don’t want to bum you out.”

Roy shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. I’d love to hear more about you.”

Ed let out a soft sigh. He knew that if he went quiet, he wouldn’t have to talk about it. That’s how he’d been avoiding things like this before. He focused on Roy’s hands for a long minute and thought hard before he decided to reply. “My mom was a really nice lady,” he said. He never was the best with talking, but Roy didn’t seem like he’d care.“When I was really little, she seemed perfect. Still does. But she got really sick one day and it wasn’t long before she was gone.” 

His leg’s scar tissue hurt from the thought of her.

Roy was respectful about it. He didn’t pity him or ask if he was okay, he just nodded and continued, “And your father?”

“Asshole,” was Ed’s immediate response. Then some flashes of Hohenheim from when the gate  was first opened and the time they’d been together when he first came to this world came into his mind and he corrected himself. “Rotten father. Not actually a bad guy, but he wasn’t around when I was a kid.”

Roy made a soft, “hm,” noise, indicating he heard, but didn’t respond immediately. He seemed to be thinking about something important. What he said next was a bit of a surprise. “My parents died when I was young. Too young to remember. So, my aunt actually raised me.”

Ed blinked. Had he ever learned anything about Roy’s past in Amestris? No, Roy normally kept his past to himself and this Roy had done similarly until now. Well, other than that scar story. Ed wasn’t really sure what to say, actually, but he managed something. “Then we’re both orphans now. Shitty thing to have in common, don't chya think?”

Roy actually chuckled at that. “I’d say.”

The subject dropped into lighter tones, but it was still centered around the past. Ed told silly stories from when he was a kid(“One time me and Al pushed our friend into the pond because she refused to marry either of us. We were grounded for weeks.”) and Roy did the same(“My aunt ran a bar and when I was ten or so, she gave me some water and told me it was scotch. I definitely thought I was drunk that whole night.”).

It was nice. 

Ed had to leave out all the alchemy, but that was fine. It was actually really easy to tell stories from when he was a kid because he didn’t start being an alchemist as rigorously until his mom passed. Plus, when one memory was thought of, dozens of others came flooding in and he just wanted to share all of it.

There was a time when they took a short break. By then, it was pretty late at night and the two of them had shifted into a different position on the couch. They were both laying down now. Roy was comfortably stretched across the cushions and Ed was curled on top of him, snuggled into his chest.

“Hey, Edward.”

Ed had almost been honestly asleep, eyes closed and everything, but he responded anyway with a sleepy, “Hmm?”

“What are doing on Christmas?”

Christmas? Ed had entirely forgotten it yet again. Though that was expected since for more than half of his life, he’d never heard of Christ, nevertheless Christmas. It was one of the many religious holidays he’d found out about upon moving from one world to another. “I uh, well I’m probably not gonna be doing anything big. Why?” His voice was mildly muffled from being pressed against Roy’s shirt. That was a good problem.

“Well, I want to invite you over, that’s why.”

Roy sounded like he’d been thinking on this all night. Ed wondered if he had. Maybe it was an important holiday to him? Probably. There were only a few people that Ed had met around here that didn’t give a shit about Christmas and zero percent of those people lived in London. It wasn’t even December yet and Ed had only just now realized why the scenery had been changing lately.

“What do you do on Christmas?” Ed decided to ask before he consented to whatever Roy had planned for the holiday.

Roy hadn’t expected that question, Ed could tell because he seemed to pause before he answered. “Give out presents to my friends and then spend the rest of the day relaxing.”

“Can I be apart of the relaxing part?”

“Obviously,” Roy said. “But I’ll be getting you something, too.” 

“Me?” Ed wasn’t actually surprised. He got presents from peers on Christmas already, especially from the people at his group home. He was never any good at doing anything himself. “You don’t have to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” The confusion was apparent in the words. Roy definitely liked Christmas, that fact was obvious.

Ed gave a shrug. “I dunno. I don’t need anything.”

“That’s not the point.” Roy wasn’t going to accept an answer like that. He moved only enough to kiss the top of Ed’s head and then laid back again. “You’re my partner, Ed, of course, I’m going to get you something.”

Ed was glad his face was hidden because those words brought heat to his skin. The kiss certainly added onto that. “Well, I’m no good at gifts. I dunno if I’d be able to get you something.” 

“That doesn’t it matter.”

Roy got a huff in return because that sappy shit was untrue. He’d need to get Roy something or he’d be an ass, but what the hell was he supposed to get? It wasn’t like he was super good at knowing what people wanted and with Roy, how was he supposed to know? It had to be something romantic, yeah, but he wasn’t romantic in the slightest.

“Ed.”

He was pulled from his thoughts. “What?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Roy said, his tone gentle. “Just make sure I see you on Christmas. That’s all you have to do.”

Ed mumbled a soft,  _ “Yeah, right,”  _ before settling back into silence. He didn’t mean to be so sour about the Christmas tradition, but honestly, he hadn’t known about it until recently, so he didn’t get the sense of nostalgia and togetherness that everybody else got. He just needed to _ pretend _ that he did so that people wouldn’t think he was weird.

It was quiet after this. Not a harsh silence, but something soft and warm. Ed pushed Christmas from his mind and got himself comfortably snuggled onto Roy’s chest again. The feeling from before returned, bringing a pleasant sleepiness with it. Ed tried not to pass out on top of Roy, but it wasn’t long before he did.

 

When he woke up, he wasn’t warm anymore. Well, he was, but it wasn’t the same. There weren't arms around him and there wasn’t someone else’s breath to listen to under his head. Instead, he was tucked into a bed, wrapped up in blankets and alone. 

The room was dark. Was this Roy’s room? He’d never seen it before so he couldn’t honestly tell. The only light was the moon leaking in through the window and because Ed wasn’t home, he didn’t know where any candles were. All he could tell was that he was alone.

He decided he didn’t like that. 

So he untangled himself from the blankets and sat up in the bed. He noticed that he was missing his shoes when a glint of metal caught his eye. Where were his boots? He was too sleepy to bother with it. 

He slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Oh, he was a little wobbly. He took a moment to steady himself before he started to stumble towards what he thought was a door. When he reached it, he found it was already open. He almost fell walking through it, not knowing there was a bit of a step there.

It was so dark in here that he could hardly tell where he was going, but he could see a faint firelight from the end of what he assumed to be the hallway. Was that the living room? Probably. He started towards it since it was the only light in the whole house. Floorboards creaked under his feet with each step he took.

The living room was actually still dark. The fireplace was dying compared to the last time Ed had glanced at it. Only some glowing embers were left in the ashes now and honestly, Ed had no idea how to get it going again. It was enough that he could see, but not too much.

A single look around the room told him where that what he was looking for was definitely in here. Roy was sprawled across the couch, looking really uncomfortable, but still dead asleep and loosely covered in a thin blanket. Ed could even hear some snoring and fuck was that  _ adorable. _

Too bad Ed had to ruin it.

Without a single thought of how Roy might feel about it, he stepped over to the couch, moved the blanket and promptly started to crawl on top of him. He heard an oof come from underneath him then a sleepy, disoriented voice asked, “Ed? What are you- what are you doing?”

“You moved me,” was Ed’s response as got right to where he was before, on Roy’s chest. In the process, he ruined every bit of comfort Roy had, but he didn’t care. When he accidentally ran his left foot over Roy’s skin- he guessed that Roy’s pant leg was pulled up or something -he got a half-hearted noise of distaste.

“Your prosfeth-,” a pause, another annoyed noise, then another try, more pronounced this time. “Pros-the-tic. Your prosthetic is freezing.”

Prosthetic, yeah, not automail. Ed hadn’t told him about that much yet, just avoided the questions. He moved his leg with a quiet, “Sorry,” then got back to his original spot. The problem: Roy wasn’t really awake enough to comply any more than just being there. He didn’t like that at all. “Roy,” he mumbled to him. “Hold me.”

A disgruntled groan came from Roy this time, but arms wrapped around him regardless. As soon as the half asleep Roy registered what was going on, the arms were suddenly a little tighter, warmer.

Ed hummed and he got a soft chuckle in response

He just about fell asleep when he heard Roy mumble something. He couldn’t understand what it was. “Hm?”

Roy’s arms moved away from Ed and shuffled until there was a thin blanket around the both of them. Once that was done, he hugged Ed to him again and let out a content sigh. He spoke the same words, louder this time, “I love you, Ed.”

He had been half asleep, but suddenly Ed’s eyes were wide. That was a pretty important set of three words Roy had just sleepily mumbled to him. What was he supposed to say back? Did he feel that way, too? He didn't know. Maybe he should just pretend that he was already asleep. Would that be worse?

“You don’t need to say it back, you know.”

That was just like the Christmas gift thing. “But I-”

Roy held him as close as possible, a reassuring gesture on its own. “I love you and I understand if you want to wait to say it back.”

Ed did want to wait. Not because he doubted he loved this Roy, but because he wanted it to feel like more than just a response to Roy’s. And, he wanted to know this wasn’t just an infatuation that would eventually fade. He was quiet a moment before he said, “Sorry for waking you up.”

Roy laughed again, “It’s my fault for moving you.”

It really was, but Ed didn’t verbally agree. He just hummed and let himself relax again. He soon fell asleep to the sound of Roy’s heartbeat.

The next time he woke, he was in Roy's bed and this time,  it was morning instead of night. Also, this time, he wasn't alone under the blankets. Roy was still holding him close and he loved that. He loved that a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, the comments on this story are what really keep me going! Thank you all so much! I reread them all the time when I need a little push to keep writing.
> 
> I hope you guys liked this chapter. I felt like we all deserved a little fluffiness. And yes, the next chapter is a Christmas chapter. 'Tis the season and whatnot. I'll probably publish it early so it'll be Christmas Eve or Christmas day.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a week until Christmas. Only a week and Ed still had no idea what to get Roy. He’d gotten his housemates gifts and found Al some fresh reading material, but he hadn’t even come close to figuring out what he could get Roy. Could someone ask for an extension on getting a gift like you could a report? No. That apparently wasn’t how the holiday worked.

Today was Tuesday. He had nothing planned with Roy, so he was at home after work, sitting on the couch in the living room with Al in one of the other chairs nearby. They were both reading books from the library. Well, Ed was supposed to be reading, but instead, he was focused on Christmas again. This meant he was rereading the same paragraph over and over and not taking any sort of information from it.

In the same room was the little fourteen-year-old, Margaret's son Arthur, and Bernice, the old woman who was actually the owner of the house. The two of them were talking about school or something. Ed didn’t care to pay attention, but he did notice Arthur more readily because he was sitting on the opposite side of the couch.

At some point, Al must’ve noticed Ed wasn’t flipping through pages as fast as he normally would, because he asked, “Brother, is something wrong?”

“Huh?” Ed was more than prepared to get his attention off of the text he wasn’t reading. “Uh, no. Not really. Just thinking about Christmas.”

Al kind of knew his situation. He’d brought it up once before but hadn’t since the beginning of the month. He’d just been fretting about it since. “You still haven’t gotten anything for him?” Al asked, a bit of his disbelief showing on his face. “It’s been a month.”

“Three weeks,” Ed promptly corrected. “And it’s hard to find him anything. He won't even tell me what he wants.” More like, he keeps insisting Ed not get him anything but that was  _ impossible.  _ Ed couldn’t do nothing.

“Who are you boys talking about over there?” The new voice in the conversation belonged to Bernice. She was a silver haired widower who was often in their business, but not in a bad way. She mildly reminded Ed of Granny, except less tiny. “Is this about that young man that’s been stopping by lately? The one in the fancy coat?”

“Yeah.” Ed saw no reason to lie. “I’m gonna see him on Christmas, but I don’t know what to get him for a present.”

“You haven’t bought someone a present yet?” Arthur sounded just as mortified as Al had. “But, Edward, the shops are going to close soon.”

Bernice sent Ed a bit of a heated look with those wise eyes of hers. Apparently, everyone was gonna dig into him because of this. “You ought to get the man something practical,” she told him. “It’s winter and anybody ‘round here could use new winter clothes. Why not something like a scarf?”

“A scarf?” Ed sounded a bit skeptical. 

Of course, Al had some of his own thoughts to put into it, “Well he did give you a coat last year. Maybe it’ll be like returning the favor.” 

“That wasn’t for Christmas,” was Ed’s argument. “Isn’t a scarf a little too simple?”

“Or just simple enough,” Arthur said.

Ed was still unsure. “What if he gets me something really good and I just show up with some dumb scarf?” Roy would act like he liked it, but he would hate it. Ed just knew that’s what would happen. “I think he has a scarf anyway.”

“Wouldn’t hurt the man to have two.” Bernice made another good point.

Ed huffed. “It’s not very Christmas-y to give someone a scarf is it? Shouldn’t I get something he’d really appreciate or something?”

Arthur had the next bright idea. “He would appreciate it if you made it,” he said. “He’d probably like it a lot if you two are good friends.”

Good friends was, uh, one way to say it, yeah. 

Ed had one last argument against the scarf. “I don’t know how to knit.”

“Boy, it’s never too late to learn.”

 

And that was how Ed was talked into making the horrible abomination of a scarf that sat before him now. Okay, it wasn’t  _ that  _ bad, but honestly, it didn’t look amazing either. It took him six solid days to get it finished with plenty of help from both Bernice and Margaret.

He’d picked out a dark navy blue yarn because Roy looked amazing in navy blue. The scarf had plenty of inconsistent stitches, a couple looked like holes, and it looked generally lopsided to Ed, but he was assured by everyone that it looked fine. Bernice had even said it was good for a first timer, but he hardly believed it. He wrapped it up in a box regardless.

Then, he was left to wait. Christmas Eve went by as slow as ever. Well, actually it wasn’t all that slow before now. Honestly, the past nine years, he hadn’t understood why people said the eve of the holiday was one of the slowest days of their lives. Now he did. 

Christmas morning came and Roy dropped by to pick him up from his house. Being on the street, they greeted each other with a light hug and weren’t very affectionate past that until they were just inside Roy’s door. That was when Ed received a soft kiss and tighter, more loving hug.

“I love you,” was the first thing out of Roy’s mouth as if he’d been holding it in this whole time. He had been saying it again and again since that night, but he never pushed for a response. He just continued on. “Do you want your gift now or later?”

Roy had been eyeing the box in Ed’s hands since they left Ed’s house. Ed assumed this was because he was curious as hell as to what Ed might have put in there. “Well, when do you want yours?” he countered, just so he wouldn’t have to decide.

“Whenever you want to give it to me.”

Smooth. Turn it back on him. “We might as well do it now,” Ed said with a bit of an uncaring shrug. “I mean, we have nothing better to do.”

Then they were back on that couch. Ed was sitting with his legs crossed underneath him on one side of the couch while Roy sat on the cushion in the middle. They both were holding boxes. The one Ed brought was plenty bigger, but that was only because the contents were made of yarn.

Roy’s was a small rectangular box, wrapped neatly in shiny gold paper with a black bow on the top. It looked fancy, honestly, and that was a little terrifying. Ed had only mildly thought about what he might be getting. His only concern so far was that it might be pricey and would very easily put Ed’s gift to shame.

They switched boxes and with one expectant look from Roy, he knew that he was going first. Great. He looked down at the golden box in his hands for a minute before he actually began to untie the ribbon on the top. He was less tentative with the wrapping, just pulling it off without a single thought.

What was in his hands now was a plain wooden box. It took him a second to realize that he needed to open it to find out what he got. Once he figured that out, he popped the lid off and real shock came to his face. “Is this a pocket watch?” he asked as he stared at the shiny metal cover of what really looked like one.

“So you’ll stop being late.”

Ed was too shocked to laugh or make any sort of noise really. The cover of the watch was mostly plain, a thin, silver lid, but had a big letter “E” etched into the middle. Carefully, he pulled the watch out of its container, the chain jingling as it came along with it. Popping the thing open, he found it really was just a pocket watch. It certainly wasn’t as fancy as the one he used to have, but immediately the meaning behind this one was way better.

“This is-” he trailed off, still a little breathless and surprised. “I love it. It’s perfect.”

Roy was certainly pleased by this reaction. As soon as Ed looked up, he was greeted by a grin. Ed flipped the watch closed, placed it back into its box, and then immediately went for their third hug of the night.

Then, it was Roy’s turn. Ed hadn’t wrapped the box himself so it looked decent. He wasn’t embarrassed about that. No, he was concerned about the contents. Roy  _ had  _ gotten him the perfect fucking gift. There was no doubt about that.

Ed mildly thought about taking the gift he gave Roy back and being like sike! Didn’t get you anything, sorry, but Roy was already working on getting it open. Ed found that looking at the fireplace was more enticing than listening to his nerves while he watched Roy, so he kept his eyes glued elsewhere. 

Some paper crumpling, then a box being opened, then Roy asked, “Did you make this?”

Was it that obvious that it was terrible because of him? Ed took a long moment to look back over, sighing as he did, “Yeah.”

He was immediately startled. Instead of fake excitement or disappointment, Roy looked happy. His grin had turned to a simple smile and his eyes, well they were filled with love. The same kind of love Ed saw every time he and Roy were out together. After he laughed or when they kissed. It was the same thing.

“That’s adorable,” Roy said without a single thought. “You seriously made this yourself? For me?”

“Yeah.” This time Ed sounded less nervous. Actually, he sounded relieved. “I uh, I got help, but I basically did it myself.”

“Wow.” Roy’s fingers were running over the knitted yarn and he looked happy. Like Ed had actually gotten him the perfect thing and that was great. “And here I was, just buying you a watch. I should’ve thought of something like this.”

“No, I love it,” Ed said, his hand gripping the box. “Really, it’s perfect. I wouldn’t have wanted anything else.”

After this, the two of them did exactly what Roy said he did on Christmas. They were lazy and it was honestly wonderful. For dinner, Roy had made a chicken and some potatoes. Not the fanciest thing but Ed enjoyed it. He actually loved it.

When they were all finished up with eating, the two of them sat at the table, soaking up the silence. Instead of playing with Ed’s golden locks, Roy was messing with his metal fingers, running fingertips over the metal, almost admiring it. 

“Still not gonna tell me about this, huh?”

Ed shook his head. He wasn't sure why he was keeping so tight lipped about his past with Roy, but he was gonna keep it that way until he was sure he was ready. “I don't think you'd believe me if I did.”

“It can't be that crazy.”

Oh, yes, yes it can. That's one of the reasons Ed was skeptical about telling him. It sounded absolutely insane in a world without alchemy. Entirely crazy to a degree that Ed wasn't sure even he'd believe himself if he hadn't lived it. How do you tell someone you lost an arm and a leg trying to bring your mom back from the dead? 

The answer: you can't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, everyone!
> 
> Again, I thank you all for the wonderful comments! Everyone is so nice and I'm glad you all like this story. I hope your holidays are, or were, wonderful everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

_ Edward was annoyed. Not only was he cold, but he was also forced to sit on his ass in this dumb fucking motel room and wait for the criminals to show up. Typically, he wouldn’t mind being a little lazy during an assignment but this two guys hit a nerve and waiting to beat the shit out of them brought a tight, angry feeling to his chest.  _

_ Today, Ed had specifically met seven different families in search of what was going on in this town. All of which had been told by two stunningly persuasive men that there was a cure all for any disease that they could perform for a price. A very high price. This meant that every one of these families had a sick member that Ed had to realize wasn’t cured. _

_ Three kids, two parents, and two elderly women to be exact. He’d never forget any of their faces, especially as he lied to them to make sure they didn’t know these men were frauds. They all seemed so happy, relieved, and alive. Honestly, Ed couldn’t bring himself to bring them down, but he’d gladly bring these assholes down.  _

_ The plan was real simple and easy. Al would go and fetch the men, saying he had a sick brother that he’d do anything for. Of course, the two of them would fall for a thing like that because they were money hungry idiots. After they agreed, Al would bring them back to their room where Ed would be able to corner them and find out what they were doing.  _

_ The original plan had involved a little acting, but Ed wasn’t good enough to pull off actually pretending he was sick, so the brute force idea was the winner in the end. Good. Then the couple of bloody noses his automail fist would cause could easily be called a healthy dose of self-defense. Nobody would argue with that. _

_ Later than expected, a tall suit of armor ushered two young men through the door. One was lanky and tall, and the other was short and plump. When the two of them saw an angry kid with one hand on his hip and the other hand holding out a shiny, metal pocket watch, they immediately tried to turn tail and run, but the door was already shut and blocked by Al, the immovable mass of steel. _

_ Sadly, they didn’t put up much of a fight. _

_ The tall one just sort of froze up. It was obvious that he had no idea what to do and if he could figure out anything, it was probably already too late. They were royally screwed. _

_ The short one was a little more, uh, well not creative per say. Well, let’s just say he was much, much more cowardly. He dropped right to his knees and started yammering, “I’m sorry! He made me do it! I told him that it was cruel but he didn’t listen!” _

_ “Just shut up,” Ed said with a pointed roll of his eyes. All he’d wanted to a minute ago was to beat the shit out of these guys but all in one moment, he realized they weren’t even worth it. It was only about a minute before Ed had the two of them locked up in alchemic handcuffs. He then plopped down on one of the beds and started to sort through the things the men had with them.  _

_ “Hey, Al,” he spoke as he sifted through some papers and money. “Go call the mp’s okay? I can keep an eye on these two.” _

_ “Right.” Al said with a nod. It wasn’t a moment before he left the room. _

_ Once the door was closed was when Ed found what he was looking for. He pulled a rolled up piece of cloth out of a duffle bag. He spread it out onto the bed. “Is this- an air transmutation formula?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Wait, this is supposed to make the air smell sweet so they think something magical actually happened?” _

_ The taller one was the one to answer him from where they were sitting on the floor. “It’s really, um really the sparks that convince people.” _

_ Ed scoffed. He’d come here in search of a philosopher’s stone and instead these assholes were just tricking average citizens to steal their money. An annoyed expression crossed Ed’s face. At least they weren’t- _

 

“You know, a lot of your stories have this philosopher's thing in it.” Roy was the person who interrupted Ed's story. He was sitting across from him on the couch, messing with a weird, jointed dog toy as he listened. “But you never told me why you and Al wanted it. That’s a serious plot hole.”

“It’s a philosopher’s stone.” A roll of golden eyes. “And was that really worth interrupting me?”

“Yes.”

Ed hadn’t been avoiding telling Roy about the emotionally devastating stuff because he didn’t trust him or something, but more so because if he was legitimately upset, Roy might start asking questions he didn’t have answers for. “Well, we wanted to get our bodies back.”

Roy gave an understanding nod- he’d been told about the armor and the automail by now -but still asked a question. “I’ve been wondering, how did you both lose your bodies in this story of your’s?”

Yeah, because that was easy to talk about. Ed shook his head no. “I’m not telling you that part yet. I was talking about something else.”

“But that’s the part I want to know about.”

Ed could tell. He asked about it often, as if that would have some real world meaning behind the automail. Like Roy could figure out what “really,” happened by Ed telling him what really happened. Ed had been telling these stories since Christmas and even though it was well into April, he still hadn’t once talked about the heavy stuff.

He never talked about the portal, about the other Mustang, the human transmutation, or anything that had to do with the homunculi. This meant that most of his stories strictly took place in the first three years that he was a State Alchemist or when he was a little kid.

“I told you I’d get to it,” Ed told him, his bottom lip puffing out into a soft pout. “Don’t rush me or I wont- I wont tell it right or something.”

Roy let out an adorable little laugh. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

“You better be.”

“I am,” Roy assured, a smile still on his face that told otherwise. “It’s just that you’re an amazing storyteller, Ed. I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned for that.”

If Ed had been telling a story that he’d made up, he would’ve probably felt pretty good about a compliment like that, but in this scenario, it just made his stomach sink and his heart deflate. Will these be anything but stories to Roy? He could only hope because deep down, he knew this was killing him. 

 

***

 

“So what did you two do about it? Just unseat him?”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Ed asked as a rhetorical question. This time the two of them were walking back to Roy’s place from the cafe. “The guy was a liar and fake. Even the stone he had was-” he paused, then corrected himself. “Well, it wasn’t fake, just, incomplete. Either way, I couldn’t just let the guy raise an army of sun worshippers.”

“Well how did you do it in the end?”

“Tricked the guy into giving everything up right into a microphone,” Ed said, shrugging as if this was no big deal. “Everyone in town heard him talk out of his ass and I was the victor. Uprising threat gone. Well, he tried to kill me afterward, but I don’t die very easy.”

Roy laughed. “I can tell.” Then he asked, “So that was it? The people in this Liore town were just done?”

Ed felt his body physically deflate as it dawned on him that the ending of that story was not so sweetly wrapped up in a tidy bow like his others been. He’d just been so preoccupied in talking about how he’d visited a desert town once that he’d forgotten everything else about the ending. “Well, uh, no, no it wasn’t.”

He watched as Roy’s face twisted to show a bit of concern. He must’ve noticed the change in attitude. “What do you mean?

“Well, yeah, I’d unseated the guy,” that part had been well done, “but Liore didn’t just give up. There was a civil war. Course, they couldn’t just handle it themselves, so the military got involved. A lot of people died and Rose, that girl I told you about, well she wasn't the same afterward. Guess they all weren’t ready to be free of the guy.”

“Do you really blame yourself for that?”

Ed stopped mid thought. He hadn’t expected a question to sound so sincere. Roy hadn’t really believed much of what he said to be real, so when he asked questions, it was more so to keep the story going than otherwise. He looked up at him, the surprise in his eyes, “What?”

“Well, you’re talking like  _ you  _ caused it,” Roy pointed out. Unlike usual, he seemed a bit more sincere with his feedback. “But you didn’t. It probably would’ve happened eventually even if you hadn’t intervened. Like you said, there probably would’ve been an uprising and the military still would’ve had to fight them.”

Ed stopped walking abruptly. That was certainly a perspective he’d heard before from someone else. Well, maybe not that exactly, but it definitely reminded him of... of General Mustang. He hadn’t thought of their similarities in months and suddenly he felt like he was back in the General’s office again and the man had let his guard down just to scold Ed for blaming himself because how dare he. The fifteen-year-old version of him was suddenly present and his chest started to hurt.

Ed couldn’t do anything but blink at him because for some reason Roy was nothing but a blurry blob in front of him. He couldn’t focus.

“Edward?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but he wasn’t sure what it had been because it was gone as fast as it appeared.

“Ed.”

He shook his head, trying to process his thoughts. It was really hard, but he managed to muster up something in response. “I’m sorry.” His voice was softer than the wind, but he thought that he was probably heard. He blinked some more.

Suddenly he was able to see again and what greeted him was a very troubled pair of coal colored eyes. They darted all over his face, seemingly looking for signs of something being physically wrong. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I-” Again, words were stuck in his throat. Why was he apologizing? That was a really good question. “I don’t know, I’m just, I’m a little- well I can’t think so I’m- I’m saying sorry, I guess? I don’t know.”

“Ed, are you okay?” Roy’s worry was apparent in his voice. 

Ed pitifully shook his head, signalling the answer was a no. He wasn’t okay, at least he didn’t feel like he was. His head hurt and he suddenly felt like he was dying. Why did he feel like he was suffocating? He was breathing, but his lungs screamed for more and more air. 

And even though they were on a public street, Roy caught him in tight hug. It wasn’t immediate relief, but he melted into it anyway, burying his head in Roy’s shoulder and deciding he’d stay there until he could breath again.

 

Neither of them spoke again until they were in Roy’s house. Even then, it was only Roy softly asking if he wanted some tea. He hadn’t nodded, but Roy got the gist that the answer was yes anyway. Ed realized this was good as soon as a warm mug of tea was in his hands.

Roy’s chair let out a ghastly screech as he pulled it closer to Ed’s before he sat down. When Ed flinched because of it, there was an immediate, “Sorry.”

Ed shook his head again. “It’s fine,” he said. A sigh passed his lips. “I’m just a little jumpy.”

He got an annoyingly sympathetic look from Roy and a hand grabbing his own. Okay it wasn’t that bad. It was actually comforting until the next question came up. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“No,” Ed said without a moment’s hesitation. Okay, that was harsh. “I mean, yes, but I  _ can’t.  _ I’m not even sure what happened.”

Instead of pushing for more, Roy gently changed the subject. “Alright, alright. Well, if you’re up to it, you could tell me another story to get your mind off of it.”

Well, that was a way to make this much easier for him. He could easily tell Roy a happy hearted story about his life with his mom. Like how she used to peel apples for him and would try not to laugh at him if he refused to drink his milk, but failed. God, how he wished he could remember that smile more clearl-

A hyperrealistic flash of the failed transmutation version of his mom was suddenly at the front of his mind.

He had to hold back a gag.

Why was this affecting him so much today? He’d had nightmares much more horrifying than a couple of flashes that he easily brushed off. So why was a memory of what happened so bad right now? 

When he glanced at Roy, he wasn’t surprised to see another distressed look. He wished it would just go away. “Edward, what’s bothering you?”

Something came over him in that moment. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he felt the need to confide in Roy. Maybe it wasn’t him thinking it, maybe it was the younger him hoping to reach out to the General one last time and seek something encouraging in return, but he just wanted to spill everything. Every little secret, every little thought.

“I told you that my mom died, right?” was how he decided to start.

A little confused, but obviously curious, Roy nodded. “Yes?”

“And I explained alchemy to you pretty good,” Ed wasn’t really patting himself on the back or anything, just stated facts. “So I want to just humor me, okay? Well, I need you to understand that something like that had rules, well taboos really.” He didn’t wait for a response now. He was just going to talk. “Like that, you couldn’t make gold with alchemy for obvious reasons. I could’ve been court martialed for doing something like that. But there were worse things than gold.”

“Like what?”

Ed could always appreciate the way Roy would ask questions to keep the story going. It helped. “Well, like bringing people back from the dead,” Ed said. He paused for a deep breath before he continued. “It’s called human transmutation and as far as I can tell that it’s still impossible to bring someone truly back. But when we were still just kids, we, no, I convinced Al to help me do it.”

Roy seemed startled, but more so in the interested way rather than the horrified way Ed was used to. “You tried to bring your mom back?”

“Right.”

“But?”

“But,” Ed had forgotten he was holding onto Roy’s hand until he realized he was holding it too tight. He relaxed a little. “But it didn’t work. In alchemy, you need equivalent exchange and even though we had all the ingredients, there’s just nothing that can make a human soul. The thing it made, it wasn’t my mom. And we didn’t just get a slap on the wrists for trying either.”

“What happened?”

“When I opened the gate to pull out my mom’s soul, I lost my entire leg as payment. And Al, he lost his whole body,” Ed could still feel the panic now that he had then, reaching out for his younger brother as he disappeared into nothingness. “When I, when I was still bleeding from what was left of my leg, I had to bring Al back by drawing a blood seal on this empty suit of armor in my dad’s study. I didn’t even know it would work and I ended up losing my arm in the process.”

Of course, he wasn’t expecting a warm reception of snuggles from Roy feeling bad and that was exactly what he didn’t get. The expression on Roy’s face was more so fascination than it was anything else and they were still just holding hands.

“So that’s how they lost their bodies in your story?” It was obvious that Roy still didn’t believe him or well, he just thought Ed was creative. “How did it happen in real life?”

There was a long bout of silence where Ed was only thinking. How many stories had he told about his real world now? All of them were consistent and Roy seemed to know that at least. 

  
  
  


Plus he did still have automail to prove some parts and he was sure he could produce some other stuff, too. Maybe, just maybe, Ed could convince Roy it was real without much trouble. It sounded really easy actually as long as he didn’t think about it too much.

He swallowed down his doubt, looked Roy in the eyes, and said, “That is how it happened in real life Roy. This uh, might sound a little crazy, but those stories, they’re my real life.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a day late, but honestly, I completely rewrote the chapter yesterday so can you blame me? I wanted to do it just right.
> 
> Thank you, everybody, for reading. I hope all had good holidays and I hope 2017 treats you well.


	9. Chapter 9

Sometimes, well sometimes Ed regretted it, you know? That’s how it was when you were alone again. You regret what you said, what inevitably ruined it for you. For Ed, it was finally telling Roy the truth. Yeah, he could tell himself that Roy would’ve wanted to know at some point and this would’ve happened eventually, but he couldn’t stop regretting it.

It hadn’t been more than a couple weeks since then, but his life had been unbearably empty and he couldn’t get the memory of it out of it out of his head even as he sat here trying to grade some essays.

_ “This uh, might sound a little crazy, but those stories, they’re my real life.” _

_ The two of them caught eyes for a long moment, nobody saying anything and only sharing shock. Ed was shocked by himself and Roy was, well Roy had a good reason to be very surprised in a situation like this. _

_ “Ed, I uh,” Roy didn’t seem to know what he should say. What could he say? “I get the whole telling a story from your own perspective thing, but you- you don’t actually think that’s real do you?” _

_ Ed felt his hope crash.  _

 

Even now, thinking of it just made Ed’s heart ache. He swore to himself that he wasn’t going to make another Alfons, but instead he’d done something worse. Roy didn’t even kind of believe him. He just- he thought that Ed was crazy and the worst part was that Ed couldn’t say that he wasn’t because it  _ did  _ sound crazy.

 

_ There was just no way that it work so easily, right? Why would it? “I’m not lying to you,” Ed said. “You can ask Al, we used to actually live that life before I got stu- before I came here. Just look at my automail. There’s no way you’ve seen something like it before.”  _

Now, Ed thought, the worst part was how nice Roy was trying to be about it.

 

_ “No, I hadn’t,” Roy said to him. “Ed, I love you with all my heart, but I don’t think that there could be a place like that. It just sounds like you’re trying cover up something bad that happened to you. Did this have to do with the war?” _

_ “What? No-” _

_ “Because I’d understand if it’s hard to talk about it, but sometimes-” _

_ “Roy, I wasn’t even in the military here,” Ed said, his tone starting to show his frustration. He knew Roy had thought that this whole time and he’d never corrected him until now.  “I didn’t accidentally call you General because I thought you looked like a German man with military power. I knew someone who was just like you in my world.” _

_ “Ed, it’s okay, you don’t have to-” _

_ “I’m. Not. Lying.” Was it really all that hard to just believe him? Or pretend that he believed it instead of going on this whole spiel about covering up Ed’s actual past or some shit. It was really pissing him off. _

Ed wasn’t even sure now why he’d gotten so angry about it so fast. Maybe because he just wanted, for one second, to be assured that he wasn’t actually crazy and that Roy would one day believe him.

_ “Edward-” _

_ “No,” Ed spat. “Don’t you Edward me, okay?”  _

_ “I didn’t mean to make you mad,” Roy’s voice reflected hurt that Ed didn’t care to think about. “I’m just trying to tell you that it’s not healthy. I mean, it’s okay but I’m wor-” _

_ “I’m not a kid, Mustang!  Don’t treat me like one. I’m telling you the truth so if you don’t want to believe me-!” _

_ Suddenly there was a small cracking noise, then the cup in his hand fell apart under the grip of his automail and he got the untouched tea all over himself. It wasn’t hot anymore, but he hopped up from his seat like it was. Fucking great. He shook his automail hand to get the glass and dripping tea out of his glove. He was soaked. _

_ Roy stood, too, a bit of worry replacing his disbelief. “Here, let me get you a towel,”  he started, moving to go to his linen closet. _

_ “No,” Ed said, shaking his head and sighing at the same time. He needed to breathe. “I’m- I’m gonna go home.” _

_ Before Roy could say anything, he turned and started to leave the apartment, angry and frustrated, not to mention wet. He thought to himself right then that if Roy stopped him, grabbed his wrist, called out his name, anything, that he’d give him another chance, but he didn’t. He just let Ed leave and Ed never went back. _

 

And so, here he was, at his desk in his bedroom, looking through essays and trying his hardest to focus on them instead of on how much he missed Roy. This was different than anything he’d ever felt before, honestly. It wasn’t like when they’d lost their mom because Roy was still out there, and Ed couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to. How did he feel about all this?

In Ed’s case, he missed everything about Roy.

He missed the way he’d play with Ed’s hair, his soft smile that would come up sometimes when he thought Ed wasn’t watching, and he especially missed the generally warm presence of being around someone you love.

But  _ whatever _ .

He wasn’t mad anymore, no, but he didn’t think he could handle being treated like a crazy person, so he wasn’t dealing with it. In fact, he was avoiding Roy like the plague. He didn’t go to the bar, he didn’t leave the house except for school, and when he did, he definitely didn’t walk down Roy’s street. He couldn’t do it.

Al seemed worried, to say the least. He was constantly up Ed’s ass about talking. He wanted to know about the fight, he wanted to know how Ed planned on fixing it, and he kept asking about it.

It wasn’t helping the whole avoiding it thing he was trying to pull off.

So, Ed avoided Al, too. The only people he didn’t avoid were the students in his class and that was enough people for him, he thought. Yup, who needed other people? Not Ed. He definitely didn’t need his brother or Roy. He was fine as he is.

If that had been the truth, when Al came in not ten minutes later and said, “You know General Mustang would’ve just let you leave, too, Brother.” The little bastard had plopped down onto the bed next to Ed’s desk, Ed’s bed, so that his brother would have no choice but to hear the fishing he was doing.

Ed easily took the bait. “Alright, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well if you were actually mad,” Al was ready as ever to jump to explaining. “You’d storm off and the general would let you cool down.”

Ed refused to look up from his work. “Yeah, so what?”

“Well, you're mad because he's different, right?” Al sounded like he was trying to be the older brother, which was dumb in Ed's honest opinion. Al was technically a whole five years younger than him so Ed didn't want to hear it. “But he's not all that different than the general. I mean, the way you talk about him, I'd say he's pretty similar so I don't under-”

“I am not trying to replace Mustang, Al.”

A pause, then the next question.“Then why are you still mad at him, brother?”

Why did Al have to ask good questions? It was a never ending frustration that Ed had to deal with every time he was mad or being seemingly unreasonable and it pissed him off. The point of being unreasonable is not asking yourself good questions. “I don't know,” he admitted. “I mean, I'm not mad anymore, I'm just upset now.”

“Then why not go talk to him?”

“ _ Because, _ ” Ed needed to stress this so now was the time that he looked over at Al, a heavy frown on his face. “He thinks I'm crazy. And he was treating me like I was just hiding behind stories because of repressed memories or some bullshit like that.”

“Well, you did kinda just drop that on him, brother. He isn't from Amestris so of course, it sounded crazy to him.”

Ed let out an exasperated sigh. “Shut up, Al.”

“I certainly wouldn't blame him if he was a little freaked out either. Who wouldn't be?”

“ _ Shut up, Al.” _

Al did as he was told for about ten solid seconds. Maybe it was a new record. Then he went right back to being the know-it-all, annoying brother that he was. “Brother, I'm just saying that maybe you should cut him some slack. If you tried to talk about it now that he's had some time to think it over, I'm sure he'd be plenty more understanding than he was before.”

Wooden chair legs screeched against wooden floorboards as Ed stood up in an angry huff. “Look.” He said as he gathered up his papers and started to stuff them back into his suitcase. “I'm done talking about this, Al, okay? If you need me for something other than nosing through my business, I'm gonna be at the university.”

Al must've known better than to argue because, without much of a fight, Ed was soon on the sidewalks that lead to his workplace. It was late spring so It was wasn't cold out here anymore but it was gray and dreary, as if it was about to rain. When wasn't it about to rain in London? Normally he'd be a little frustrated about it but he supposed this was perfect weather to match his mood: unbearably sad and a more than a bit depressed.

He cooled down after a few minutes and actually considered Al's words. He  _ had  _ just dropped a big thing onto Roy and expected him to take it perfectly. Life didn't actually work like that. At the same time, he was still being ridiculously stubborn with his own thoughts because he was scared. What if he did talk to Roy and Roy still didn't believe him? What if he never did? With that in mind, Ed decided he'd be better off without. Cutting off ties before things got worse. 

But, just thinking of never seeing Roy again made him want to just give it up and go talk to him.

He hadn't realized that he'd turned on Roy's street until he was standing at Roy's front door. There was no doubt that he was either here or at the bar. Either way, Ed could talk to him if he really wanted to. He stared at that door for a long time. He'd gone in and out of it hundreds of times without a thought, but today it felt like a big deal because what was lying on the other side was a path he could take that would change his life, more likely for the worse.

So, he promptly turned and went on his way.

He didn't need another Alfons. That's what he kept repeating to himself. He didn't want to make Roy miserable when he talked about home and he didn't want to be treated like he was telling stories for the rest of his life.

So, he decided he was going to break it off. And by break it off, he means that he wasn't going back. He was going to stay as far away from Roy as he could and he wasn't going to listen to Al. It was over and the saddest part was that this moment had a bitter sense of finality to it.

 

When he got to his desk at the school, he had to take a long time just to sort out his emotions before he actually started working on grading again. This time, he thought he'd be left alone, but much to his dismay, a person walked through his classroom door. He glanced up and was surprised to the headmaster of the school there at the entrance.

All of his personal problems vanished from his thoughts in a flash and he stood right up from his seat, “Oh, sorry, sir, I didn’t-” 

“Elric!” The Headmaster, Albert Charles, was a very, well, outspoken person. Friendly in a way, but definitely not someone Ed would dare go up against. Of course, he’d only seen the man a few times since he started and he could tell that he was a favorite. “I’m glad I caught you, my boy,” he said. He seemed like he was in a very good mood, smiling and everything. “I need to talk to you.”

Immediately Ed knew what it was going to be. Finally, he thought, he was going to be hired on for good. A flash of good luck to blow away the dark cloud that had been looming over him, perhaps. He was going to get to be a teacher. “Um, yes sir?”

“You are a very smart man,” he was told. “Smart enough that I should’ve given you a major position a long time ago.” Okay. “You are exceedingly good at all the sciences.” Right. “But,” But? “I’d be selfish to keep you for myself.”

“Huh?”

“You like to travel, don’t you, Elric?” 

Ed was so curious that he had to nod. “Yes, sir, I do.”

Albert’s grin was almost terrifying, honestly. “I have a friend who needs a young man like you at his own school. Of course, the class will be younger than the one you teach now, but I think you’d like it.”

“I would?” Did he mean Ed would be working with kids?

“Of course!”

Ed’s jaw would be dropped in awe if he didn’t have to ask a question on his mind. “Uh, sir, where exactly is this school?”

“That’s the best part,” Albert said. “The school is in America.”

“America?”

“Yes, America. A nice little town in Vermont.”

“I-I don’t-”

Albert cut him off before he could stutter himself in embarrassment. “Don’t answer me just yet, my boy. I’ll give you a week to think about it. Now then, I’ll be off.”

And then he was gone.

Ed’s knees couldn’t hold him up any longer. He collapsed down onto his seat, his mind racing at the very idea. America? He hadn’t uprooted since he left Germany and he had reason to there. That would mean traveling over the Atlantic. He’d be moving him and Al right out of the lives they had here.

Then it struck him.

Would that really be so bad? Right now, he had problems with the life he was living and he’d never been against running away from emotional issues. What’s a better way to cut ties than to just leave?

Maybe he’d be better off in America.

Of course, the culture change would be jarring but if he could handle adjusting to Germany after leaving Amestris, he could probably handle a trip to the Americas. He’d heard a lot of good things about them. 

His mind was made up before he even really thought out the details. It was the perfect way to get out of London, possibly forever, and a change of scenery was just what Ed needed right now.

He was in the middle of thought when the door to his class opened again and he thought maybe Albert had forgotten to tell him something so he said, standing as he spoke, “Headmaster, sir, I think I’m gonna acce-”

Golden eyes met black ones and Ed felt panic run through his whole body. The person at the door was exactly the opposite of who he was expecting. He could have hoped for anybody else. How did he even find Ed?

“Roy,” he breathed. “What are you- what are you doing here?”

Roy looked like an utter wreck. His hair was even messier than usual, his outfit was nothing more than a wrinkled, button up shirt and jacket, and from where Ed was standing he could see darks under those eyes. “Ed,” Roy seemed almost relieved to see him. “I need to talk to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could say a thousand excuses and not make up for being so late. I apologize! However, the few days I got extra did help me piece it together better. I hope you enjoyed it! I may be changing my day to Friday because I am getting bad at remembering when Tuesday is. Oops.
> 
> Thank you for all the love! The comments I get on this story keep me going. Really.


	10. Chapter 10

Alphonse Elric was typically the level headed one of the Elrics. He didn’t get very angry often, at least not like his brother did, but there was something especially frustrating about his brother's stubborn attitude this time around. Normally, he’d let Ed seeth, then talk him into giving it up and things would soothe out from there. Ed had stopped seething, alright, but he didn’t seem like he was going to talk to Roy anytime soon.

He mildly suspected Ed planned on just emotionally dodging this one.

And Al was not going to have any of it. He was annoyed with how his brother was acting like a child. And then saying he didn’t want to be treated like a kid. Al scoffed. His brother was just being an idiot and it made him mad that he couldn’t do anything about it.

Well, that’s what Al initially thought. When Ed stormed out of the room, practically telling him to screw off, Al was... very, very unhappy. You know when you’re usually a little indifferent to something until something specifically just makes you snap? That’s how Alphonse felt right about then. As soon as the door of their shared room closed, Al frowned.

Then he got up from his place on the bed, slipped his shoes and coat on, then moved to follow Ed. He knew full well where the November Stallion was, but if what he was looking for wasn’t there, he’d be in trouble. So, he instead stalked after his brother.

He was very careful not to be caught, keeping far behind him. Lucky for Al, Ed wasn’t the kind to look back if he heard something unless it was something very concerning that he heard. Al accidentally kicking a couple rocks was apparently not concerning.

When he saw Ed stop in front of a door, he had to completely halt. There was a good minute where he just watched his brother stare at the front door of some random building like it wasn’t something he’d never seen before. Several emotions crossed Ed’s face. Regret, thought, anger, and then a lot of sadness. Resigned unhappiness that ended with a finality that left a sour taste in Al’s mouth.

That was definitely the door Al needed.

He waited a good five minutes before he walked over and knocked on the wooden door before him. It was another five before a messy haired, tired version of Mustang opened it. Al was taken aback. “Wow. You do look like the general.”

Roy’s eyes went from mildly depressed to a little confused. Then finally, realization. “You’re Alphonse, aren’t you? Edward’s brother.”

Al nodded. “Yup, that’s me,” he said. “I need to talk to you.”

 

“So, you’re saying it’s all real?”

Al was now in Roy’s living room, sitting as the man paced the room. It was odd to him to see Mustang and know that it wasn’t the one he knew, but the one his brother had so obviously fallen in love with over all this time. “Of course it’s all real,” he said, calm despite feeling a little pressed for time. “Brother wouldn’t just lie to you like that. He lo- He really likes you.”

“Oh,” Roy ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed, his frustration apparent. It must’ve been hard to learn what a prick you’d actually been to the person you love. “And I-”

“-called him crazy?”

“Yeah.” Roy let out another sigh, this time through his nose. “I’m- I’m assuming you don’t want me going near him again, right? That’s why you’re here?”

Al shook his head no. “Actually, I want you to talk to him.”

This obviously took Roy by surprise. “Why?”

“Because he’s stubborn,” Al told him. “Brother is stubborn and dumb and he won’t listen to me. I can tell he’s not going to talk to you first, so you need to do it before he does something rash.”

Roy would’ve asked something like,  _ “You really think he’ll do something rash?”  _ but he knew better. Ed was a spur of the moment kind of person. Plans made him nervous, so if they decided what they wanted to do that day, Ed seemed more comfortable. He wasn’t scared of new things, but he was scared of talking about the past. “I don’t know where he is,” he admitted instead. “Is he at home?”

“No,” Al said. “He’s at the university.”

“Which room is his?”

“104.”

 

***

 

“I need to talk to you.” 

Ed didn't hesitate with an answer. He'd already made up his mind on this and seeing a ruffled up Roy Mustang didn't change anything even if it made his chest hurt. And god was it aching right now. “No.”

“Ed-”

“No,” Ed repeated to cut him off before he could say anything else. He really, really couldn't take it. “I said no, okay? I don't want to talk. It's been three weeks Mustang. I’ve been at home most of that time so you- you could’ve talked to me then.”

Roy pressed for more than just a no. “Just give me five minutes.”

“I can’t give you five minutes,” Ed shot back, his voice edging on angry now. “I need to get back to work, then I need to go talk to Al about mo-

“Al’s the one who told me where to find you,” Roy said. “I was letting you cool down, but he told me that you needed me to talk to you first. So here I am.”

“You talked to Al?”

“He came to me.”

“What’d he say?”

“He told me that you didn’t lie,” Roy said. “Or well, he explained what happened. He told me about the gate, about you sacrificing yourself for him. Look, I still don’t get it, but I don’t think you’re crazy. I never did.”

There was a moment where Ed’s hardened shell seemed to melt, but as soon as the first what if thought came to mind, he stiffened right back up and even looked away, turning to pick up his paperwork. “Whatever. You're just saying that because Al told you to. I'm not dumb.”

“He didn't tell me to say anything, Edward,” were the next words out of Roy's mouth. He stepped closer to the desk and put his hand on Ed’s shoulder to turn him around to face him. “I'm telling you the truth.”

Ed brushed Roy’s hand off of him and sent a glare along with his words. “Then maybe you shoulda told me the truth last week, okay? Today, no. I’m done.”

“Ed, please.” Roy’s tone was as desperate as his eyes and Ed had to quickly glance away to not shatter his demeanor. 

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, okay?” Ed felt a little more vulnerable now and he did his best to cover this up by returning to his papers. “There's no ifs, and's, or pleases about it. I just can’t do this anymore and I’m not doing this again.”

There was a pause as they both processed what he’d just said aloud. Roy was the one to break it. “Again?”

“I-” Ed stopped himself before he ended up talking to Roy again. No, that wasn’t happening. He was still upset and he was latching onto the idea that he’d soon not have to worry about Roy anymore. “No, I’m not doing  _ that.  _ Just screw off, okay?”

“I’m not going to just leave,” Roy argued back, putting his hand on the sheets in Ed’s grasp and pressing them to the desk. “We’ve been together for a year now, Ed, and you’re going to break it off over one fight?”

“Yes.”

“That’s childish.”

Ed was getting a little sick of people questioning him today and acting like he was being stubborn and selfish about this. So what if he was? It was his decision anyway. “I’m childish,” he said. “So childish that in fact, I’m going to tell you to quit touching my paperwork and get out of my office.” Wow, had he heard those words from a different Roy before. In a different context with an utterly different mood in the air. His thoughts of nostalgia didn’t help his anger with this Roy one bit.

His- no, this Roy huffed in frustration. “I’m not leaving. I can be just as stubborn as you.”

“Well, stop, it’s not worth it.”

“It is.”

The both of them caught eyes in a fierce glare, a battle that Ed lost, but immediately followed up with, “I’m leaving.”

“No, we’re talking about this.”

Ed shook his head. Correction, “I’m moving.”

Roy’s face twisted into a taste of confusion. “You’re what?”

“I’m moving,” Ed repeated dryly. This was a last ditch effort to get Roy to fuck off before Ed actually cracked. “To Vermont. In America. I apparently have a job offer there and I’ve stayed in London too long.”

For a long moment, all he got was blinking in return. He could physically see as Roy’s face went from confused and hurt to hardened, blocking out emotion, right in front of his very eyes. “Oh.”

Ed hadn’t realized how bad this would hurt, but he knew he couldn’t falter now. If he did then he’d never be able to leave this country because he’d have to stay here to make whatever that was Roy was doing go away forever. “Yeah. Oh.”

Roy’s question was quiet, “When are you leaving?”

“I don’t know yet,” Ed said, his voice softer, too. “Soon, probably.”

“Ah.”

For some reason, Ed felt an apology on his tongue, but why would he need to say sorry? It wasn’t like they were dating anymore. Regardless of his thoughts, he felt utterly terrible. He wasn’t going to give this up, but maybe for the first time in his life, he wasn’t completely sure of his stubbornness as it was happening.

Roy excused himself and this time, their fight had that bitter taste of finality. Ed wished he could stop tasting it. Mostly because he was sure this was his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I am really sorry. I didn't realize how emotionally painful this was until I had to give my editor a hug because she was crying. Sorry, Alex.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading it regardless. Sorry, I haven't been responding to comments recently, but they're all just so nice and wonderful! I swear I read and take each one to heart. All of these people who've been commenting are probably the reason I'm actually going to finish out this story, even if it takes a lot of work. So really thank you! Everyone, I love you!


	11. Chapter 11

Four whole months passed and Ed could honestly say they were the absolute worst months of his life. He was told that he’d be leaving in the summer after he accepted. At the time, that didn’t sound too terrible, but once he was alone to reflect on his decisions rather than jumping on the first boat to America, he suffered from the guilt of doing it before it was even done.

He managed not to crack.

Al told him that he was being stupid and to not expect him to go along with it. Ed only half believed his threat because he knew his brother wouldn’t let him be stupid alone. It was a little concerning, though, that Al had not yet even started packing up, so that warranted that he needed as, ‘or so he thought,’ somewhere in that.

Today.

Today was his last full day before he was going to be on a boat for another couple of months. It was certainly not a hot summer day, he wasn’t even sure those existed around here(then again, he grew up in a southern farming town that bordered a desert). Instead, it was foggy, kind of damp, and dreadfully bleary. 

Of course, why wouldn’t it be? Was there ever a day he didn’t feel depressed walking the streets of London? The answer is no. Despite that, he still walked them. He was mostly saying goodbye to the places he’d never see again. Or, at least, he wouldn’t see soon. 

He passed Roy’s house twice, no three times.

He stopped in and got a tea from the Sweet Rose cafe.

And he lingered in front of the November Stallion.

The first time he’d been to this club, it was out of boredom. That was over a year ago now, right? He couldn’t quite place the date, but he remembered the feeling. Being somewhere new, surrounded by new sights and smells, finding Roy at the bar, learning how well he could sing. That was a tragically great night.

Deep longing and nostalgia kept him from just walking away.

What day was it? Friday. Roy shouldn’t have a show tonight and if Ed was lucky, he wasn’t working the bar either. Ed slipped his fingers around the door handle, pulled it open, and stepped inside. The smell of alcohol, the sting of cigarette smoke, and the sound of jazz music bombarded his senses and Ed’s immediate thought was: Home. 

It almost felt like the taste of Winry’s apple pie, the feeling of staying at the Hughes’s house overnight, or maybe even the sound of the Colonel’s pen scratching paperwork as Ed layed on his couch for a nap. 

You know that feeling when you didn’t know you missed something until it was right in front of your face, ready to make you cry? That’s kind of how Ed felt just standing at the entrance of the place, and honestly, it was the first time he’d really felt like this in a place that was across the gate. Yes, he missed Germany, but not like this.

Without his mind telling them to, his feet followed a familiar path, taking him right to the bar as if he was on autopilot. The bartender was none other than the beautiful Riza Hawkeye. Ed knew he should be relieved it wasn’t Roy, but was kinda disappointed, too. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like they could really rekindle their relationship in one night.

“Didn’t think I’d see you here again, Edward,” Riza said to him. She didn’t even ask what he wanted. She just got a cup of ice and poured the scotch over it before passing it his way. “I heard you were leaving.”

Ed accepted the alcohol graciously, taking a thankful sip as soon as it was in his hand. It was more so a gulp than a sip and it burned going down. He lightly coughed before he responded. “I am,” he said. “Tomorrow. Thought I’d stop by, first. You know, to see how you’re doing.”

Riza gave him a long, deliberately slow look up and down before she said. “Roy’s not working tonight, but you already knew that.”

“Yup.”

She shook her head at him, one of her pinned up curls falling out of place as she did so. “You both are so ridiculous. So gloomy. Well, I’m not mopping up your tears, too, you hear me, Edward?”

“Don’t worry,” Ed just laughed, kind of sadly, even though he really didn’t want to know Roy was moping about too. That hurt. “I’m just here for a drink,” as he said it, he took another drink of it.

Riza rolled her eyes, but she obviously still had a question on her lips. “So, you’re really going to leave him without saying goodbye?”

Why did everyone think they needed to be in his business? The cup was at his lips again. He tilted it back and drank a little more than he’d normally handle in one go. Then he put the glass back on the counter with a clank. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked. “Go to his house and be like, ‘Hey, remember me? I’m leaving tomorrow.’”

She shrugged her shoulders, grabbing Ed’s glass as she did and refilling it since he was about at the bottom of it. Once it was filled, she handed it back and said, “It’s better than me telling him tomorrow night that you’re definitely gone and didn’t even stop to say goodbye.” 

“I didn’t come here to get scolded,” Ed said.

Riza gave him a huff in response. “I’ve had to listen to how much my best friend misses you for  _ months  _ and you think you can come in here and not get told a few things?”

Ouch. Ed felt that one. “I’m sorry.”

“You better be,” Riza almost snapped. She sounded like an angry mother scolding one kid for hitting the other. “I’m not against you leaving the country. All I’m saying is that if you don’t tell him goodbye tonight, I’ll go across the Atlantic to hunt you down personally.”

A gulp. “Yes, ma’am.”

He’d finished two other glasses of scotch by the time he was deciding that he was about ready to leave. The entire time, he’d been thinking about what Riza said. He needed to say goodbye to Roy, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to. What if he decided he couldn’t leave? It was too late for that now.

He mildly noticed someone sitting next to him, but he didn’t look over. Instead, he set his glass down and was about ready to call Riza over to pay his dues when a strikingly familiar voice came from next to him. “Can I get two more glasses of whiskey over here?”

Ed’s eyes snapped over and were greeted by the same dark-eyed man he used to share his time with. He didn’t look any better than the last time Ed saw him. He might’ve looked even worse now, with darker under eyes and a bit more extra scruff on him than Ed was used to. “Uh, a-actually, I was just leaving.” The look Roy gave him broke that idea. Hurt, hope, and a little bit of unease. So, he didn’t leave. “I mean, I was going to leave to talk to you before I left. Like left for real.”

“For America?” was Roy’s question. It was sad like he already knew the answer but had to ask anyway.

Their drinks were served.

Ed turned his eyes away, a ball of guilt weighing on his gut. “Yeah,” he said softly. “My uh, my boat leaves the dock tomorrow afternoon.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Silence drifted over them. Ed missed when these quiets between them were comfortable, but now, not so much. It was awkward and sad, guilt and unease soaking the air around them. They sat like this for a long time. The only sounds to accompany their shared moping was the chattering of men, a jazz singer on the stage, and the clinking of the ice in their glasses.

Ed ended up have five glasses of scotch by the time he cut himself off. By then, his whole body felt numb and his mind wasn’t filled with thoughts. The only things he was thinking about were apologies and maybe that he should be getting home.

So he turned to Roy, the same time Roy turned to him and they both stumbled over an, “I’m sorry,” at the same time. They blinked.

Ed ended up asking, “What?”

“I’m saying sorry,” Roy said. “Before you leave. I was a prick when you told me about your past and I’m sorry. I realized I didn’t even try to apologize to you after I left that day.” Roy looked down into his own glass, the solemnly took a drink of it. “I should have.”

Ed hadn’t even thought about it like that. He didn’t think this was Roy’s fault at all. It was his, right?  “Don’t, don’t apologize,” he said. He words were a little bit slurred and his thoughts weren’t as fast as they should be. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t being emotionally stiff. “I’m the one who overreacted. I shouldn’t have just dropped everything on you at once like that. I shouldn’t even have told you. It’s so- so weird, surreal, to me now. I can’t imagine how it was for you to hear that.”

This was starting to feel like the conversation they should have had.

The frustrated huff next to him made Ed look back over at Roy. He seemed almost angry? Angry, but upset. “You had every right to tell me, Edward. If anything, I should’ve been less stubborn about believing you. I mean, look at your arm and leg.”

That actually made Ed laugh. He shifted his automail fingers, even if they were covered by a glove because they were mentioned. “Yeah. They’re one of a kind around here.” He paused. “Two of a kind. Arm and leg. Sorry, I’m a little drunk.”

Roy was less tense at that, and his face seemed to brighten as his lips lifted into a smile. “It’s alright,” he said. “It’s cute.”

It felt like it had been forever since Ed felt his stomach turn to air like it just had. “I’m not cute,” he decided to say as he turned his head to look away. 

A soft, familiar hand caught his chin and gently tugged until Ed caught eyes with Roy again. “You said tonight’s your last night, right?” Roy waited for a nod then continued. “Will you spend it at my house?”

That was very forward of Roy to ask, but Ed found himself nodding his answer yes before he moved his head away. “But this doesn’t mean we’re back together or something. I’m still leaving.”

Even with that news, Roy was still grinning. “Don’t worry, I know. I’m just happy to have you at all.” 

They paid for their drinks, well, Roy paid for their drinks and left the bar. Ed hadn’t realized how longs they’d been in there until he stepped outside and it was dark outside. He didn’t pay much mind to it, though, just shuffled after Roy.

They walked side by side under the lamplight and they found themselves walking on empty streets. At some point, their hands became tangled together(possibly when Ed about tripped over himself) and neither of them spoke a word about it. 

The inside of Roy’s house was the same as it always was. Empty. But it also felt like home, just as the bar had, even if it wasn’t homely. As soon as they reached that couch, Ed ungracefully collapsed onto it and pulled Roy down with him. They ended up with Roy’s head laying against Ed’s stomach while Ed ran his fingers through the messy, although, very adorably overgrown black hair.

The quiet around them now was bittersweet. They both knew this should be their time to talk about goodbyes and realize the fact that their life together was over, but neither wanted to ruin the way it felt to be like this again.

When it was broken, the subject was lighter than what was on their minds. “I’ve been talking with Alphonse,” Roy said.

That was a little bit of a surprise. “You have?”

“Mhm.” Roy nodded, then turned his head to be able to see Ed. “He comes over every Sunday. We talk. He didn’t tell me when you guys were leaving, but he did say I might see you this week.”

“Little traitor,” Ed said simply with a puff. 

“Well, he was right,” Roy told him. He paused before he said something else. “He told me about Alfons Heiderich.” 

This time Ed didn’t have anything to say.

“And about the General Mustang,” Roy continued when he received nothing. “You know, I’m nothing like the guy. I always thought if I had an alternate universe version of me that he would be more-”

“Similar?”

“Yeah.”

Ed shook his head. “You’re nothing like him, you’re right. All he cared about was money and getting a promotion. Heard he gave it up for a while, though I never met that version of him. The only thing you both have in common is looking the same and being frustratingly better at talking than me.”

That made Roy laugh. 

Then there was more quiet.

Next, Ed said, “Come here.”

The response he received was a very confused expression and the words, “Edward, I am here.”

So, Ed’s hands grasped at Roy’s shirt and startled to pull at it, “No, come  _ here. _ ”

This time, Roy seemed to get the gist of what was going on. He moved up, getting closer and closer until their noses about touched. “Here?”

“Yeah.” The feeling of warm breath against his lips made a shiver fall down Ed’s spine. Oh, how he’d love to feel those lips against his. Then he thought, why not? This was his last day here and he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t, so he connected their lips.

What followed was a heated session of desperate kisses, fast and needy, like they both had felt deprived of the feeling of their lips sliding together in sync and suddenly nothing else in the world mattered but this. And nothing did matter anymore. Not America, not them breaking up, not the fact that getting back together was impossible now.

Until their lips broke apart. Then Ed found himself shoving his face in Roy’s shoulder, his emotions bubbling up faster than he could handle. He could feel them settling in his throat, burning as they formed into a hard ball of things he didn’t want to think about.  He really didn’t want to end up drunk and crying tonight, but it felt like it was leading to it.  

Roy acted immediately. He sat back on the couch, pulling Ed along with him so that Ed was lying on top of him now, face still burrowed. And then he wrapped his warm arms around Ed and held him tight. Oh, it was so comforting to know how much he cared, how much he still loved him even after all of this.

“I’m so sorry,” Ed’s voice was muffled by Roy’s shoulder, but he was sure the man could hear him. “I don’t- I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with you.”

One of Roy’s hands moved up and started to pull out the hair tie that held Ed’s hair back. As soon as it was loose, Roy’s hand was running through it while he shushed Ed and told him, “It’s alright, I’ll always be here for when you come back.”

“What if I can’t come back?”

“Then, I’ll be sure to write you,” Roy said. “I’ll write you every day and tell you how much I love you just so you know that I do.”

That wasn’t very helpful, honestly. Ed couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be to only be able to write Roy letters, especially with how terrible he was at talking. He was worse at writing. He’d never be able to convey what he meant in ink on parchment because that just wasn’t who he was and it never would be. 

So what could he do? He didn’t want to up and leave Roy, but he also had no say in the matter at this point if he wanted to have a job. It didn’t help that he  _ was  _ itching to travel and staying in London would only make that worse. Suddenly, it hit him.

“Come with me,” he said.

Roy was just as startled by his idea as he was honestly. “What?”

“You can come with me,” Ed repeated, now lifting his head so he could look Roy in the eyes. “Al’s been refusing to go and I have two tickets to America. What if you came with me? I mean, then this wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

“Edward, I have a job and a house-”

“That we can come back to,” Ed interrupted. “Well, we can come back to the house, but well, your job, I have plenty of money for the both of us and you could get a job in America if you want.”

“Ed, I can’t just-”

Of course, Ed wasn’t one to give up an argument as important as this one just because of some measly adult responsibilities. Who needed those anyway? “Why not? I mean, wouldn’t you rather just go than regret not going?”

“Is that a motto of yours?” was Roy’s question. It was a little obvious that he was thinking about this more than he let on. 

“Yes,” Ed said. “And it’s literally the only reason I’m here now, so it’s a good one. Maybe you should give it chance, too.”

“Ed-”

Now, earlier on, Ed had thought tacking on this set of words to the end of Roy’s would be too fake, so you’d think that he’d have decency enough to not use it in the manner he was about to, but he did it anyway. “Roy, please, I love you and I don’t want to leave you behind.”

The hesitance that Roy gave was almost a definite answer, but Ed waited politely for him to say it himself. “Fine,” Roy said. “But I’ll- I’ll have to tie ends before I leave.”

“You can do that tomorrow morning,” Ed suggested. There was this big smile on his face that showed not only on his lips but also in his eyes and in the bit of pink that dusted on his cheeks. He felt happier than he had in months. “You’ll need to pack, too.”

It seemed the excitement was rubbing off because Roy was smiling, too. “Right.”

“Right,” Ed repeated at him. 

Then Roy said, as if he had to, “I love you, Edward.”

Ed had missed hearing those words and Roy’s timing was more impeccable than Ed’s own because, in the midst of excitement, Ed could feel them make his heart skip a beat. He didn’t hesitate this time to say them back since he’d already done it once. “And I love you, Roy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the last chapter on Saturday. Today's Tuesday and I already finished this fluffy monster because wow I wanted this stuff as much as everybody else. And I posted on Tuesday! Go me!
> 
> Okay, so there's probably one chapter left after this one. It's crazy to think how far this story's come and it's all because of the wonderful people who leave comments and kudos(by the way, I am so sorry for everyone's hurt last chapter). I appreciate you readers so much it's unbelievable! I even keep the emails that tell me about the comments so I can read them over and over. You all are amazing!


	12. Chapter 12

“Look, I know it’s short notice,” Roy said into the phone of the booth. “But I’m just asking you to look after my house for me, okay? I’m probably gonna be gone a long time, but I’d like to come back and find that it wasn’t broken into or something.”

“What are thieves gonna steal?” Ed asked, even though his input couldn’t be heard by the woman on the other end. “Your couch?” At least Al laughed.

Roy shushed him, even though he made a good point. “Alright,” he said, continuing the conversation he was having on the phone. “Thank you, Riza. Sorry, I couldn’t stop by. Okay, good bye.” Then he hung up the phone.

This had been the loose end that Roy had to tie before he could take off with Ed. The rest of the morning had been spent nursing a hangover, packing Roy’s things, and going to talk to Al about what was going on while also grabbing Ed’s giant suitcase.

Al was all for the idea, honestly. He’d had no intention of going with Ed for several reasons and one was that he’d already started working on becoming a doctor. Another was that he kind of didn’t want to leave London. Ed wasn’t sure why. Maybe a girl? Whatever it was, Ed could not convince him of otherwise, nor did he have time to.

So, they all three stood at the dock only minutes before when two of the trio had to board the ship. It was a little emotional. Yeah, Al was his own person and would certainly be fine on his own, but Ed felt more like a parent leaving his child at this point than an older brother saying goodbye.

“Make sure you have money ready for Bernice at the beginning of the month,” he was telling Al. “And don’t stay up late reading if you have a job, now, okay? Oh, and make sure you write. I need some confirmation things are going okay.”

Al looked a little exasperated by all of these things he already knew. “Brother, I’ll be fine,” he was sure he said this six other times this same morning. “Trouble follows you remember? And I know how to handle myself so you don’t have to worry.”

Ed’s lip was right between his teeth. He knew he had  to go on this boat but he was wondering if he could drag Al along without a ticket because leaving him here had so many things that could go wrong. What if Al got sick? Or if some other evil band of people just popped up? Al could say that he’d be fine, but wouldn’t it be better if he-

“Edward.”

Ed eyes went over to Roy, the very person who said his name. The man was giving him a very loving, albeit knowing, look. It told him that Roy knew exactly what he was thinking and that Ed should stop. He sighed. Without a single drop of hesitation, Ed stepped forward and gave his brother one of those hugs that made you go ‘oof’. Al was still a noticeably different height than him, but right now that didn’t matter. “Just make sure you stay in one piece okay, Al?”

Al’s arms hugged him back just as hard and there was a smile in his voice when he responded, “I could say the same to you, Brother.”

Then they separated.

As they boarded the ship, Ed expected to feel some sort of devastating loss in his chest, but instead, it stayed happy. He was sad about leaving his brother, of course, but at the same time, he was wanting to cry because he was happy, not terribly sad. It was like he was turning to a new chapter of his life where he and Roy were going to live happily ever after in some foreign country and even though Al wasn’t going to be there, it wasn’t like Al was gone forever. So Ed felt, well he could only describe it as content.

Which was odd. After all that time searching for Al, for his body and eventually waiting to hear if he’d made it, Ed thought he’d be more reluctant to take off in a boat and leave him alone, but something in him understood that nineteen was a proper age to leave your parents, so why not your older brother, too? He was proud, too, of Al. Becoming a doctor? It was a perfect job for him.

They made their way onto the deck of the ship so they could wave goodbye to Al, but they were stopped first by another familiar face. “Hi there, I’m gonna be your captain on this ship,” the man introduced, grin on his face and cigarette between his teeth. They were offered a hand to shake. “I’m-”

“Jean Havoc,” Ed said, more happily surprised than anything. When he got a very confused look in return, he accepted the handshake and corrected himself, “Captain Jean Havoc. I’ve heard about you. I’m Edward Elric.”

A questioning glance was received by Roy before Roy had to shake the man’s hand himself and say, “Roy Mustang.”

Oppositely, Jean’s grin widened, “Didn’t know I was so famous in London. It’s nice to have the two of you on board.”

When Jean left to greet other passengers, Ed and Roy finished their journey to the edge of the boat. That was when Roy questioned him, “Who was that?”

Ed smiled. “Another person I used to know,” he said. This was when he spotted Al and waved. “And I think the two of you will be friends.”

“Huh.”

 

***

  
  


_Hey Al,_

 

_Can you believe it’s almost been a year since I came to America? You’re probably pretty mad at me since I haven’t sent you a single letter until now but I’ve been busy getting settled, you know? Well, okay you got me, I had time. I just didn’t know what to say. But I have been reading all the letters you’ve been sending and I’m really happy for you._

_Me and Roy finally got done moving into our new house last month. Did Hawkeye tell you that he decided to sell the house in London? Said he liked Vermont better. I told the bastard not to but he’s been getting more stubborn than me lately._

_You should see this place. It looks just like our old house. It’s on a hill and everything. Well it’s a little smaller, but I swear it’s super similar. You should see it someday. Maybe you could bring that lady friend you’ve been telling me about. You say her name was May, right? And you’re right, Roy does look a little Chinese. When I asked him about it, he reminded me that he had no idea where his parents were from._

_They have me teaching kids that are like ten to fifteen. I never actually thought I was good with kids until now. Do you know how many drawings I have on my fridge because of them? They love me. Well the little ones do. The older teens, well some of them are just jerks, but was I really any different when I was their age?_

_I was thinking about adopting a kid now that we’re settled. I used to be too scared because of dad, but over this past year, I realized I really miss having a little brother to take care of so I was thinking that I should try to get a son or daughter of my own. I don’t think Roy would be against it either. Did you know he’s an orphan, himself?_

_Roy got another bartending job here that pays him twice as much just because he sings so even though my salary got cut a little, we’re both doing pretty well for ourselves. That’s how we bought the house._

_I got that letter you forwarded from Gracia. I can’t believe they’ve got another baby on the way. Elycia is what, five now? I guess Hughes always was a pretty family oriented guy but I can’t imagine what two Elycia’s in one house would be like. Probably too much cute._

_I ran into the Winry that’s here not that long ago. She’s a lot different in this world. Her hair is even short. I felt like I was seeing things. She got married to some guy and she lives here in Vermont with her kid._ Kids. _I tried talking to her, but she’s so different we could hardly hold a conversation. Now I just miss our Winry._

_Speaking of, my automail’s starting to get a little on the old side and I have no idea what I’m going to do if it breaks. I’ve been oiling it every night and keeping it waxed but there’s this chink in my shoulder that you’re gonna need to fix for me, okay? So hurry up and come here for a quick visit before I don’t have an arm anymore. You could even get a discount ride from Havoc._

_Anyway, there probably should be a lot more that I have to tell, but that’s honestly about it. It’s been pretty, well not dull, but I guess I’d use the term domestic? I feel like an adult now and even my usual need for travel hasn’t been bugging me lately, so I haven’t done much. I am proud of you, though. And I miss you. Remember to be safe, Al, okay? And keep sending me updates._

 

_-Ed_

 

Ed scratched his name onto the very bottom of the paper, then put his ballpoint pen down with a soft clunk onto his desk. It looked a little short, hardly more than a page and kind of messy but it was the fifth one he’s written so far and he was kind of done trying at this point. He just hoped Al would like it. He folded it up and put it in an envelope before he could question himself any more.

He stretched his arms up over his head, then started to run his fingers through his ponytail. It was getting even longer each year but he was hitting a point where cutting it more than a few inches would make his head feel way too light.

It had been a couple hours since he sat down to write this. It had to be as good as he could get it or Al would never forgive him for not responding. He hoped if he added some extra stuff like a photo or something, he wouldn’t be in the dog house for that long because he really wanted Al to visit.

He was just about to wonder where Roy was since it was getting late into the morning now when the door to the house opened and closed and a “I’m home!” echoed across the house. A smile slid right onto Ed’s lips and he popped out of his seat.

The house wasn’t desolate like the one Roy owned before. Ed bought paintings and books and put fresh flowers out twice a week. The livingroom was overstocked with unpacked boxes and random things that they didn’t have a place for yet, but that didn’t stop Ed from marching in there and plopping down onto the cushion of their couch.

Roy stepped in and sat down, too, not a moment later and the two of them cuddled. Since they’d moved, Roy had cut his hair, let it get too long, cut it, and so on. Right now it was in the messy in between phase that Ed loved because he was able to play with it. “How was your day?” Ed asked as he tangled both flesh and metal fingers into Roy’s hair.

“Had to break up a couple bar fights,” was Roy’s answer. He sounded a bit worn out and in need of some sleep. “but other than that, it was good. How about you? What are you still doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Ed said. “So I wrote a letter to Al telling him about this past year. You’ll have to teach me how to send mail.”

Roy chuckled. “Don’t worry, I will.”

After this, they were quiet. The way they were sitting, Ed had the back of Roy’s head on his stomach so when Roy started to snore, Ed just had to look down to confirm that he tuckered out after coming home.

When Roy was asleep, he looked much younger. It didn’t help that the man had a naturally chubby face so the only way Ed could tell he’d even aged at all since they met was the little bits of gray that was starting to show among the black. It was only a couple strands, almost unnoticeable, and, at this point, it was endearing to see.

Their life together so far was perfect, Ed thought. Yes, they’d had a bit of a falling out for a moment but as he thought of everything they did together, those few months hardly mattered anymore. Being captivated by Roy’s singing, their first date, their first Christmas. Ed still had the pocketwatch. Taking all of these things and adding them together, it all made Ed so happy he could hardly handle it.

He loved Roy.

And he knew their future would be good together, too. They had plenty of more firsts to get to and if they got a kid like Ed hoped, then plenty of more challenges, too. This was his home now and this Roy was _his_ Roy.

 

And honestly?

  
He knew he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. The end.
> 
> I'm really glad I decided to write this now, not only because I was actually able to finish a story, but also because I got to see how many people got to enjoy this story. All of you helped me complete this about as much as my editor did. Reading your comments helped me so much and I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate them. I kinda gush about it every chapter don't I?  
> Well, if you want to keep up with me, my deviantart is: backfromhell666.deviantart.com  
> And my tumblr is: sweet-sillystring-revenge.tumblr.com
> 
> I'll probably start writing something new soon. I have a couple one-shots at this point if you want to read those, and I'd avoid any of my other attempts at writing chapter stories if I were you.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my excuse to do some 1920s writing. This is a rewrite of a terrible old story and by rewrite I mean the general basis is the same and /everything/ else is different. 
> 
> Big thank you to Alex, my beautiful editor. 
> 
> My art for this: http://backfromhell666.deviantart.com/art/1920-s-RoyEd-646478708


End file.
